Time Moves On, Life Goes On
by Ruby Sapphire Rose
Summary: Nearly 3 years after Amon's defeat, 2 sudden events brings Korra's world crashing down around her. Now, with the help of her Republic City family, she must face the impossible task of moving on. PLEASE R&R!
1. Go With Her

**A/N: The only characters I own are the two that I can't reveal right now without giving anything away, but you'll know who they are soon.**

**I guess you could call this a sequel to 'Goodnight my Hero', though you don't have to read it to understand this. These two stories are part of my "Heroes **

**Time, and Light" trilogy. **

**Okay, enough talk, here is the first chapter...**

Korra watched as Katara added different herbs to a cup of water before using water bending to mix it all together. Katara sighed sadly as she looked at the Avatar.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Korra?" She said. "You know after I give him this, he likely won't wake up again."

Korra looked down at the man lying in between them. The pillows had been elevated so that he could sleep sitting up, thought at this point, it gave him little comfort. She turned

back to Katara.

"I'm sure." She said. "You said it yourself, he won't make it through the night and if this is it, I want him to pass peacefully."

Katara nodded and held the man's head up, put the cup to his lips, and poured the liquid into his mouth while Korra gently rubbed his throat so that he would swallow it. When

they were sure he had swallowed it all, Katara laid his head back down and Korra pulled the covers up to his neck.

"How long till it takes effect?" She asked.

"A few minutes. I'll leave you two alone, just come get me when it's time." Katara said.

She put her hand and Korra's shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

"I'm so sorry, Korra." She said. "I did everything I could."

"I know." Korra said, her eyes not leaving the man on the pallet.

Katara stood up and walked out of the room and, after taking a few minutes to wash her hands, left the small house. Korra looked at the man lying in front of her. Though his

body had wasted away to nothing after three and a half months of battling the sickness that was taking his life, he still was, and would always be, the strongest man she ever

knew. She watched as his breathing evened out and he fell asleep for what would probably be the final time.

"I'm sorry, I know you didn't want this." She said. "But I can't stand to see you suffer anymore."

Katara walked back to her small house, where two men where waiting for her. They stood as she entered the house and took off the mask that was covering her nose and

mouth.

"He will probably be gone by morning." She said. "Korra has agreed to give him the sleeping medicine and he's resting comfortably now."

Both men nodded.

"Mother, you're exhausted. Go rest." Tenzin said.

"I can't, I have to be here wh..." Katara began.

"Your son is right, Master Katara." Mako said. "You and Korra haven't slowed down since we got here two days ago, go sleep for a few hours and we'll come get you when..."

He didn't finish, he didn't need to, they were thinking the same thing he was. The sickness that Tonraq had had already taken the lives of many people in the Nothern Water Tribe

and before the night was over, it would claim another victim.

It had all started a year ago, nearly two years after the Revolutionist movement was stopped in Republic City. A sickness had started in the Northern Water Tribe and quickly

turned into an epidemic. Nobody had ever seen such a highly contagious and violent sickness. It started out as a simple fever and cough, be within a month, the infected person

would start experiencing weight loss, chest pains, and began coughing up blood. From there, the disease would grow more violent until the infected person would die from slowly

suffocating or blood loss from coughing up so much blood. When word got to the Southern Water Tribe about the plague, a group of healers decided to go and help fight the

sickness, one of those healers was Senna. Tonraq went with her for two reasons. First, he wanted to see his brother Unalaq, who he hadn't seen since Korra was a baby. The

second and more important reason was Senna. They had never been apart in their marriage more than the one month a year that the men of the tribe left to hunt for food and

with no one knowing how long the healers were going to be away, there was no way he was going to be away from the love of his life. After a farewell feast held in their honor,

the group of ten (nine healers and Tonraq) left for the North Pole. Over the next six months, six of the healers would die from the sickness; four in the North Pole and two on the

trip back to the South Pole, leaving only Tonraq, Senna, and two other healers. Katara, who had been getting updates from the North Pole, knew that if they didn't want to the

sickness to spread in the South Pole, the four had to be isolated from the tribe and each other until it was certain that they hadn't carried the sickness back with them. So

immediately upon their return, Tonraq, Senna, and the two healers were whisked away to four separate huts about a mile away from the tribe. Several weeks later, Katara went

back to each of the huts to check on everyone. The healers and Tonraq were fine and the healers were allowed to return to their families. But when Katara entered Senna's hunt,

she came face to face with a frightening sight. Senna was lying on her pallet, hot with fever and coughing into her hand. When she moved it from her mouth, Katara could

clearly see a few small drops of blood.

A week later, late at night when everyone in the tribe was asleep, Senna was moved to the house next to Katara's house at the now empty compound after Tonraq refused to

leave his wife's side, even if it meant catching the sickness himself. After trying unsuccessfully to convince the man that it would be for the best if he did, Katara relented and let

him stay with Senna, but not before giving him a mask to cover his nose and mouth and telling him to wear it every time he was in the same room as Senna was. Over the next

two months and a half months, Katara tried everything she could to save the mother of the Avatar. But when it became clear that Senna wasn't going to get better, Tonraq sent

a message to Republic City, telling Korra to come home. Korra left the day after getting the message, but even though Tenzin flew her to South Pole as fast as he could, Senna

couldn't hold on and died just hours before Korra's arrival.

Korra was devastated when Tonraq told her the news, but she knew she had to be strong for her father. They had a traditional Water tribe funeral for Senna, except they had to

burn the body before sending the ashes out to sea to ensure that the sickness didn't spread. Though Tenzin left for Republic City after the funeral, Korra stayed behind until she

was sure that Tonraq would be all right.

The day after his wife's funeral, Tonraq woke up with a high fever and a cough.

A few hours later Katara left, Tonraq's eyes shot open and deliriously gazed at the foot of his pallet.

"Senna?" He said weakly. "Waterflower, is that you?"

Korra smiled sadly as she heard her father's nickname for her mother, it was his nickname for her too.

"I can't." Tonraq said. "Our baby needs me."

Tears formed in Korra's eyes.

"Go with her, Daddy." She said softly. "I'll be okay now, go with Mom."

She watched at his chest rose and fell one last time before his body become completely still. After a few moments, Korra reached up and closed his eyes.

"I love you both." She said as she pulled the sheet over his head.

Then she got up and left the room and walked to the bathroom to wash her hands. Afterwards, she walked to the front door of the house and looked at the entrance to the

bedroom one more time. Wiping her tears away, she stepped outside into the cold dark night and walked to Katara's house.

Tenzin hadn't realized that he had fallen asleep until he awoke to the sound of the door sliding open and someone walking inside the house. He opened his eyes and saw Korra

closing the door and taking her mask off.

"Korra." He said.

Korra jumped and looked in his direction.

"Tenzin?" She said. "When you get here?"

"A couple of days ago." He said. "Mako came with me."

Korra gave a small smile at the mentioned of her boyfriend, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

"Tenzin, my father..." She began.

"I know." He said. "I'm so sorry, Korra."

"I have to get Master Katara. She said to get her when..." She couldn't finish.

Tenzin could tell she hanging on by a thread. She looked worse than his mother and he could tell that she probably hadn't slept in days.

"Korra, when was the last time you got a full night's sleep?" He asked.

Korra was quiet for a moment.

"I...I can't remember." She said. "I've gotten a couple hours sleep here and there since my dad's condition worsened."

"And when was that?" Tenzin asked.

"Two weeks ago." Korra said.

That's when Tenzin noticed that she was swaying back and forth, the last of her strength leaving her. Just as he was getting up to walk over to her, she fell to her knees.

"Korra!" He said, running over and kneeling beside her. She looked at him weakly.

"Sorry." She said. "Just got a little dizzy there for a second."

Tenzin shook his head.

"Korra, you need to sleep. You can't go on like this." He said.

"I know Tenzin and I will, I promise." She said. "I just have to go get Master Katara, then I have to write to my uncle and tell him what happened, then I have to make arrangements for the funeral and..."

"I'll take care of my mother, write to your uncle, and make the funeral arrangements. We'll worry about everything else later." Tenzin said. "Go to bed, Korra. Mako is waiting for

you in the guestroom."

Too tired to argue and wanting to see Mako, Korra just nodded and Tenzin helped up and steadied her before letting her go and watching walk to the guestroom. Then he started

to look around for some paper to write a letter to the North Pole.

Korra slid the door to the guestroom open and was greeted with the sight of the man she loved, sleeping in his tank top and training pants. Taking her hair down and stripping

herself of her coat, the animal skin around her waist, and her boots, Korra crawled into bed and gazed at Mako as she reached up to stroke his face with the tips of her fingers,

causing Mako to wake up.

"Korra?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Hey." She said.

She tried to smile at him, but Mako could see the overwhelming sadness in her eyes.

"Korra, I'm so..."He started to say.

Korra stopped him.

"Don't, just don't." She said. "Everyone keeps telling me how sorry they are and I'm sick of it. Just hold me, Mako, make the pain go away for a while."

Mako nodded and rolled over onto his back, taking Korra with him. She laid her head on his chest and within a few minutes was lulled to sleep by the sound of his heartbeat.

Mako let out a sigh as he ran a hand up and down his girlfriend's back. He knew what Korra was going through and knew that no amount of "I'm so sorry" could take away the

pain or the feeling of being alone in the world. He placed a kiss on the top of her head.

"I love you, Korra." He said. "And I promise, you'll never be alone."

**Endnote: So what did you think? Review and let me know. I didn't particularly like the ending, but my mind was completely blank at that point and I couldn't**

**up with anything better.**

**T****hanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**See ya next time!**

**Ruby Sapphire Rose**


	2. Stepping Out and Living On

**A/N: Tin Su is mine.**

**Enjoy...**

Tonraq's funeral was held three days after his death and, like his wife, his body was burned to prevent the spread of the sickness. Two days later, after putting her parent's affairs

in order and choosing and packing which of her parents' belongings to take back with her (the rest would be spilt up amongst the tribe), Korra, Mako, and Tenzin left for Republic

City.

As the sun started to set, Korra lay sound asleep in Oogi's saddle, wrapped in one of the blankets from her parents' bed with her head in Mako's lap. She was only able to get four

hours of sleep the night of her father's death, then, like she had done while taking care of him, had forgone sleep the remaining five days, only taking short naps here and there.

Mako ran his fingers through her hair, which he had pulled out of her hair ties to make her more comfortable.

"I should have been with her." He said. "Why didn't she tell me, Bolin, or Asami what was going on?"

"She didn't know what was happening until she got the letter and she had to leave right away to be with her mother before she passed." Tenzin said. "She knew you the three of you were busy and she didn't want to take you all away from your responsibilities."

Mako let out a sigh; he knew Tenzin was right. But still, Korra had been so supportive of the decisions that the brothers and Asami had made nearly three ago and it killed him to

know that he hadn't been able to be there for her when she needed him the most.

After everyone returned to Republic City after Korra's and Lin's bending was restored, Mako and Bolin decided to travel to the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom to learn all they

could about bending. Korra and Asami were sad that the boys were leaving, but they knew that this was something they had to do. The girls were also busy with Korra restoring

bending of Republic City's citizens and helping rebuild the city while Asami wondered what to do about Future Industries. During their time apart, though they never saw each

other, Mako and Korra kept their relationship alive through the letters they sent back and forth to each other.

One day at sunset, a year and a half after the boys left, Korra was sitting at the dining room table trying to feed Rohan his dinner of mashed up radish-squash and rice while

Pema finished making dinner for the rest of the family and Jinora was setting the table and Ikki and Meelo were playing outside. While Rohan had had no problem with the rice,

that night's vegetable was a whole other story.

"C'mon Rohan, Just one little bite, please?" Korra pleaded.

"No, No, No!" Rohan said, banging his fists on the arms of his booster chair.

The next thing Korra knew, the bowl of mush that was sitting on the table between her and the one year old was hitting her in the face. She reached up and removed the bowl;

it's contents now covering her face and hair. She heard footsteps run into the room and a second later, laughter. She turned and saw Ikki and Meelo laughing so hard that their

faces were turning red. Jinora was only giggling, but she was trying hard to hide it.

"Alright Rohan, bullseye!" Meelo said.

The one year old squealed happily as Pema entered the room, holding the tray that held that night's dinner. On her shoulder was a rag to clean up Rohan after he ate since he

tended to be a messy eater.

"Oh my, what happened?" She asked.

Korra looked at her.

"I think it's safe to say that Rohan's an airbender." She said. "And that he hates radish-squash."

Just then, everyone heard the sound of a sky bison landing. "Sounds like Tenzin's home." She said.

She put the tray on the table and turned to her children.

"Jinora, finish setting the table. Ikki and Meelo, go wash up for dinner." She said.

She walked over to Korra and Rohan.

"It looks like he ate all the rice and one night without vegetables isn't going to hurt him. Looks like most of it got on you." She said as she took the toddler out of his booster seat.

Once she had him securely on his hip, she took the rag off her shoulder and handed it to Korra.

"Go get cleaned up and I take care of the mess here." She said.

Korra nodded and went into the kitchen. She was turning on the water when she heard Tenzin walk in.

"Good evening, Korra." He said. "How was...what's all over your face?"

Korra let out a sigh as she wet the rag and began to clean the mush off her face.

"Mashed up radish-squash." She said. "Rohan didn't like his dinner, so he took it out on me."

"Well, finish cleaning up and go to the table. We have a guest joining us for dinner." Tenzin said.

"Who?" Korra asked.

"You'll see here in a moment." Tenzin said, then walked into the dining room.

Korra joined everyone at the table a minute later and bowed her head as Tenzin began the blessing.

"We are grateful for this wonderful food, for our happiness, for compassion, for our loved ones, and for the blessings that the Spirits continue to give us." He said. "We are also grateful that our guest had a safe journey here and that he is home at last."

When Korra heard what Tenzin had said, she opened her eyes and there standing in the doorway, a little tired from his long journey here, was the love of her life.

"MAKO!" She cried.

She jumped up, ran over to him, and threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tight. Mako hugged her back just as tightly, grateful to have her back in his arms. Afterwards,

he told everyone all about his adventures in the Fire Nation. About how he traveled around for the first two months looking for a master, about finding a traveling, tea loving,

firebending master named Li who trained him in the ways of firebending and lightingbending for the next fifteen months, and about how, for his final firebending test, Li took him

to a place where the original firebenders where known to have lived (he wouldn't go into details about the test, only that he passed it).

The next day, Tenzin was doing some paperwork in his office at City Hall when he heard a knock on the doorframe and looked up to find a man dressed in Fire Nation red semi-

formal clothes with his long black hair pulled back into a low ponytail. He was also carrying a medium-sized black bag. "Councilman Tenzin?" He asked.

"Yes." Tenzin said.

"My name is Tin Su. I'm the friend and lawyer of Butakha, the director the Pro-Bending league and the owner of the Pro-Bending Arena." He said. "I need to speak to two of the members of the Fire Ferrets, Mako and Bolin, and I haven't been able to locate them. I understand you know of their whereabouts."

Tenzin nodded.

"They were living on Air Temple Island, but they've been away learning more about their bending." He said. "Bolin returned six months ago and Mako returned last night."

"Will it be possible for you to get them here? It's vital that I speak with them." Tin Su said.

"I'm afraid Bolin is continuing his training here in the city and isn't available." He said. "But I can have Mako here in half an hour."

"Very well." Tin Su said. "I shall return then."

He left the office as Tenzin reached for the phone to call home.

Twenty-five minutes, Mako stepped off the trolley in front of City Hall and walked inside the building. Pema had woken him up and told him that Tenzin wanted to see him at his

office at City Hall, but told him she didn't know why. After getting lost a couple of times, he finally found Tenzin's office and walked in to find Tenzin and another man there. The

man turned to him.

"Are you Mako of the Fire Ferrets?" He asked.

Mako nodded and the man held out his hand.

"My name is Tin Su and I representing Butakha." He said.

Mako shook his hand, still very confused.

"Nice to meet you." He said. "If you don't mind me asking, where is Butakha?"

Tin Su let out a sad sigh.

"I'm afraid my client has passed away." He said.

Mako couldn't believe it.

"What?!" He said. "When?!"

"Last month." Tin Su said.

"After the pro-bending arena was attacked by Amon and the Equalists, my client knew he was a target and fled to the Earth Kingdom, only telling me of his whereabouts. He was going to return after he heard about how the Avatar exposed Amon and the city became safe for benders again, but became ill before he was suppose to leave. The healer in the Earth Kingdom told him that it was just a summer cold and that it was safe to travel, so my client left for the city. By the time he arrived here, he was so sick that he had to be admitted to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a severe blood infection. The healers did everything they could over the next year and a half, but nothing could stop the infection and it slowly killed him."

Tin Su opened his bag, pulled out a packet, and handed it to Mako.

"This was suppose to be given to both you and your brother, but Councilman Tenzin has informed me that your brother is training and cannot be reached so you'll have to give him this information later." He said, handing him the packet.

"What is this?" Mako asked, taking the packet.

"Butakha's estate." Tin Su said.

"Estate?" Mako said, opening the packet and finding papers inside it.

"Yes, he left everything to you boys." Tin Su said. "Ownership of his loft at the Golden Lotus Lofts, all the trusts and bonds in his family's names..." He paused for a second before continuing. "And ownership and the pro-bending arena and league."

Mako's eyes grew in shock and he nearly dropped the papers. "The arena AND the league?!" He said.

Tin Su nodded.

"Though he never showed it, he was very fond of you boys." He said. "Your story reminded him of his own."

"What do you mean?" Mako asked.

"He and his family came here from Omashu when Butakha was seven. One year later, his parents died when their apartment caught fire, leaving him and his twelve-year-old brother orphans and homeless." Tin Su said. "To support the both of them, his brother joined a pro-bending team. At the time, pro-bending was illegal and the league was underground, no holds barred, and run by the city's street gangs, who also sponsored the teams and funded the championship pot. The playing field was the same, but there was no water to dunk your opponents into. Your team won by literally knocking out all three members of the other team and your reward was the half of the pot, with the other half going to the winning gang."

"Sounds rough." Mako said.

"Trust me, kid, it was ruthless. It wasn't uncommon for people to come out with broken bones and other severe injuries, some people became crippled for life." Tin Su said.

"Is that what happened to Butakha's brother?" Mako asked.

Tin Su nodded.

"One brutal night when he was eighteen and Butakha was fourteen." He said. "The championship pot was fifty thousand yuans and even though he would only get a small portion of the money, it would be enough to feed him and Butakha for months. His match was the last of the night and after over an hour of fighting, his team came out victorious. But the gang of the losing team refused to accept the outcome of the match and attacked Butakha's brother's team. When the fight was finally broken up, one of his teammates was dead and his brother's knee was crushed. So instead of using the money for food, they ended up using their portion to pay for a healer to treat Burtakha's brother's knee. Even though the healer didn't everything she could, Butakha's brother became crippled and had to use a cane for the rest of his life. But the biggest thing to happen that night happened to the league itself. When word got out that someone had died in a fight after the match, the police raided the place where the matches were taking place and cause so much of a stink that people were afraid to go to or take part in the matches. With no money coming in, the gangs shut the league down."

"So how did it come back?" Mako asked.

"After he mostly recovered for his injuries, Butakha's brother decided to bring the league back. He made a new set of rules that are still in use today, designed a new type of field that floated on the waters of Yue Bay so that instead of getting knocked out, the goal was to knock the other team into the water, and convinced a few small businesses to sponsor a new set of teams. Then he went in front of the council and somehow convinced them to give the league a chance. It took a few years, but slowly the league became what it is today. When Butakha's brother died, he took over the league and to honor his brother and all that he did to bring the league back, Butakha petitioned the council to build an arena to house the matches. Knowing how large the crowds were growing every week and how dangerous it was getting to have the matches in Yue Bay because of that, the council agreed to build an arena and one and a half years later, the Pro-Bending Arena was opened." Tin Su said.

He looked at Mako.

"Look, Butakha had no other family, this league was his life and I know that he wouldn't trust it to just anybody. But if you feel that this is going to be too much for you and your brother, I understand." He said. "And I know he would too."

Mako looked at him.

"Can I have some time to talk it over with Bolin and we'll both think about it?" He said. Tin Su nodded and pulled out a small piece of paper.

"I had a feeling you would say that and I admire you both for it, this is not a easy decision to make." He said, handing Mako the paper. "My phone number is on this, call me when you've made your final decision."

Mako nodded and Tin Su turned to leave the office. But before he did, he turned back to Mako.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. I know the papers say that you own Butakha's loft. But the Golden Lotus Lofts were destroyed in the Equalist attack because it was the home of several rich and powerful benders." He said. "But if you and your brother need help finding a place of your own, I can help you find a realtor." He said.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary." Tenzin said. "Both Mako and Bolin will remain on Air Temple Island until they are ready to leave."

Tin Su gave them a nod and left the office. Mako turned to Tenzin.

"Thank you." He said. "But I promise, as soon as Bolin is done with his training and we've saved up enough mon..."

"Take as much as you need, having you live on the island is the least I can do after all you, Bolin, and Asami have done for my family." Tenzin said, smiling. "And for Korra."

Mako smiled back at him, then his face turned serious again.

"Do you know how I can get a hold of Bolin?" He asked.

"I have the telephone number where he can be reached." Tenzin said. "But he won't be able to talk to you. He's not allowed any outside contact until his day off this week."

"When is that?" Mako asked.

"Three days from now." Tenzin said.

Mako nodded again, thanked Tenzin, and left his office,

knowing he had a lot to think about during the next three days.

"Wow, I had no idea Butakha felt that way about us." Bolin asked.

It had been three days since he had found out. He and Mako were sitting at a table at Narook's Seaweed Noodlery and Bolin had just finished reading the papers that Tin Su had

given Mako. Pabu was at his usually spot, wrapped around Bolin's shoulders. Bolin was thrilled when he saw that Mako brought him since he wasn't allowed to have Pabu with

him while he was training.

"So what do you want to do?" Bolin asked.

Mako sighed.

"I know the arena needs a lot of work after all that's happened there and it will be a lot of work getting the league up and running again." He said. "But after thinking about it for the last three days, I've decided that I want to do this, Bo. I want to continue Butakha and his brother's legacy."

"I know you can do it, bro." Bolin said. "But I'm afraid you're going to have to do it without me."

"What do you mean?" Mako asked.

Bolin let out a sigh.

"Mako, I'm really liking the training I'm going through, even though it's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, and I know that I'll be making a difference once all my training is done and I don't want to give that up." He said. "You're not mad, are you?"

Mako smiled sadly at him.

"Of course I'm not mad." He said. "Just because you're going to be off doing your own thing doesn't mean I'm not going to love you any less. If anything, I'm proud for stepping out on your own."

Bolin smiled back at him. "Thanks Bro." He said.

Tin Su was finishing up some final paperwork when his telephone rang.

"This is Tin Su." He said.

"Tin Su, it's Mako." Mako said.

"I talked it over with Bolin and he doesn't want to leave his training or the path he's on right now, so I'll be the only one taking over the league and the arena."

"That's wonderful Mako." He said. "Just come by my office tomorrow, sign some final paperwork, and the league and the arena are yours."

"Great, I'll see tomorrow." Mako said. "Have a good night."

"You too kid." Tin Su said, then hung up.

He looked at the photo on his desk of him and Butakha that was taken at the pro-bending championships two years before.

"Your legacy is going to live on, my friend." He said. "The league is in good hands."

It was just after midnight when they arrived on Air Temple Island. After landing Oogi safely in the courtyard, Tenzin looked behind him and saw the two teenagers lying asleep in

the saddle with Korra wrapped securely in Mako's arms. A couple White Lotus guards walked up to the bison as Tenzin climbed onto the saddle and gently shook Mako awake,

careful not to wake up Korra. Mako groaned and opened his eyes.

"We're back." Tenzin said. "Can you take Korra to her room? The White Lotus will gather her things and leave them outside her door."

Mako sat up and stretched.

"Would you like me to do anything else before I go to bed?" He asked.

Tenzin shook his head.

"Nothing that can't wait till morning." He said. "Get some rest." Mako nodded.

"You too." He said.

Tenzin gave him a small smile and watched as he took Korra into his arms and used Oogi's tail to get down. Tenzin followed behind him and instructed the guards to take Korra's

things and leave them outside her room. When they were done, he took Oogi to the air bison caves and took his saddle and reigns off and put him back in his stall before leaving

for his house.

On his way to his room, Tenzin stopped by his children's rooms. Jinora and Ikki were sleeping in their beds, but when he opened the door to the boys' room, he saw that Rohan's

bed was empty. He sighed, knowing where the three year old probably was if he wasn't in his bed. He walked the remaining distance to his room, quietly opened his door and sure

enough, there was Rohan, sound asleep and snuggled up against his mother. Tenzin silently crept into the room and changed into his pajamas, then crawled in next to his wife

and youngest son. As he was getting comfortable, Pema woke up and opened her eyes.

"You're home." She whispered.

Tenzin smiled, leaned over, and gave her a kiss.

"I missed you." He whispered back.

He looked down at the little boy sleeping between them.

"I thought we were trying to make him sleep in his own bed." He said softly.

Pema looked at him sadly.

"He had been sleeping in his own bed every night." She said. "But tonight was different."

"How?" Tenzin asked.

"Your letter from the South Pole arrived this afternoon." She said.

Tenzin had sent a letter back to the island the same time he had sent one to the North Pole to inform Unalaq of Tonraq's death. He did this mostly to prepare the children for the

fact the Korra would probably not be the same Korra they all knew when she returned, but also because Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo had remembered Tonraq from when they had

visited following the Revolutionist movement.

"How did the children take the news?" Tenzin asked.

"Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo were sad, but they took it well." Pema said. "And I know Rohan doesn't remember Tonraq, but this is his first exposure to death and to know that someone you know and love can just go away one day and never come back is frightening for someone his age."

Tenzin nodded, remembering his first exposure to death.

He was four years old when his grandfather Hakoda died and the only memories he still had of that day were of his mother crying and watching the raft carrying his grandfather's

body out into the ocean. But Tenzin would always remember the feelings he had that day and the days afterword. He slept in his parents' bed every night for a week until Aang

sat him down and explained to him that even though his grandfather may be gone physically, he would always have a place in Tenzin's heart. He looked at Pema.

"I'll have a talk with him tomorrow." He said. "The sooner we get him to sleep in his own bed, the sooner we get our bed and room back."

"For a while at least." Pema said as she laid her hands on her large rounded stomach.

This pregnancy had been a surprise, but after the initial shock, everyone grew excited about the new edition to the airbending family. But for Pema, this pregnancy felt different

from her previous four. Ever since she was far along enough to feel the baby move, she would feel the baby move on one side of her stomach, then feel movement on the other

side a second later. But her midwife had assured her that the baby was healthy and pregnancy was going smoothly. In just a few days time, she and Tenzin would welcome their

fifth child.

Tenzin gave a sleeping Pema one last kiss before turn onto his back and falling asleep, thinking about how it was so unfair that while he and his wife were about to bring the new

life into the world, the girl they considered to be their daughter was morning the loss of the two lives that mattered to her the most.

**Endnote: So now we know what Korra and Mako have been up these past few years. Next time, we'll find out about Asami's and Bolin's journey and more about they're budding romance. **

**Until then, thanks for read and don't forget to review! **

**Bye! **

**Ruby Sapphire Rose**


	3. Too Soon and Too Much

**A/N: Just a quick note, the next couple chapters take place the day that Korra, Mako, and Tenzin are traveling back to Republic City. **

**Enjoy...**

The next morning, Bolin was awoken by the sun hitting him directly in the face. He groaned and started to turn over, only to hear the sound of papers crunching under him,

reminding him that he had spent hours the previous night studying and practicing for his metalbending and police tests, which were in a few hours. Knowing that going back to

sleep was now going to be impossible and wanting to get some metalbending practice in before the test, Bolin rolled out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom. After he finished

his morning routine, a little more awake now, he walked back to his bed and grabbed his notes before walking over to the kitchen area of his dorm for some tea and leftover

Narook's noodles. As he started to eat and look over his notes for the umpteenth time, Bolin still couldn't believe how much his life had changed in the past three years.

Like his brother had done in the Fire Nation, Bolin had found an earthbending master a couple months after arriving in the Earth Kingdom, an old man named Haru who had

fought along side the original Team Avatar. Unfortunately, he passed away in his sleep just ten months into Bolin's training. But Haru, knowing that his life would soon be ending,

wrote a letter to his protégé, which his son gave to Bolin after the funeral. It read:

Dear Bolin,

If you're reading this letter, then I've had gone to the Spirit World and my body has been given to the earth. I know that our time together was short and it may not seem like I taught you much. But truth be told, you already knew so much that there was not much to teach you. Your story touched me and it is amazing how you learned most of your earthbending on the streets. Though you are not a master yet, if you keep honing your skills and listeningto what the earth like I taught you to, I know that you will become one very soon. But for all I know about earthbending, there is one type of bending I always wanted to learn but was never able to. A type of bending that I feel you will not only be able to learn, but also master. Bolin, I want you to learn metalbending.

I first learned about this type of bending after the war from my friend Toph Bei Fong, who developed the skill. I asked her to teach it to me and she agreed. But no matter how hard she was on me and how hard I tried, I couldn't learn it. Finally, we both accepted that even though I was a great earthbender, I would never be a metalbender. But Bolin, I know that you have what it takes to be a metalbender. So besides this letter, I leave you with these instructions. Go back to Republic City, find yourself a metalbender master (Toph Bei Fong died a few years ago, but I've heard her daughter is just as good, if not better, than she was), and learn the craft that I was never able to learn.

I believe in you, Bolin.

Master Haru

Bolin stared at the letter for a few moments, then turned to Pabu as he refolded the letter.

"Looks like we're going home earlier than we thought, huh buddy?" He said.

Pabu tilted his head to the side and chirped in response.

Two weeks later, Lin Bei Fong was sitting in her office at police headquarters, looking at the list of potential recruits for the Bei Fong Metalbending Academy. As the daughter of

the school's founder and the Chief of Police, she had a hand in picking who would spend the next two years training to be one of Republic City's finest. Looking at the list of the

people who had signed up, Lin saw a lot of people were the sons or daughters of some of Republic City's well-known families. Most of these were just kids who were trying to rebel

against their parents and wouldn't make it past the entrance tests and the few who did would most likely drop out in the first week. As she neared the end of the list, she was

surprised when she saw Bolin's name. From what she had seen of his bending from his pro bending and fighting, Lin could tell he had a lot of potential and hoped he'd consider

joining the force after he returned from training in the Earth Kingdom.

"Training with any reputable earthbending master takes at least 2 years. What is he doing back so soon?" She thought. "Maybe he couldn't find a master, gave up, and came home."

She reached for the phone to call Air Temple Island. Tenzin and, surprisingly, Pema had been trying to get her to come for dinner for weeks.

She also knew that Bolin would probably be living there.

After a quick trip to her apartment to change out of her uniform, Lin went to the docks and boarded the ferry. As she got closer to the island, she could make out Tenzin and the

three eldest children. She was halfway down the ramp when Meelo launched himself at her.

"Hero Lady!" He shouted.

Lin caught him in her arms and tried to keep herself from falling into the bay. After regaining her balance, she walked down to the dock where Jinora

and Ikki ran up to hug her.

"Auntie Lin, Auntie Lin, guess what?! Bolin came back from the Earth Kingdom!" Ikki said.

"I know." Lin said. "His name was on the list of potential recruits for the metalbending academy."

"We were shocked when he showed up last week." Tenzin said. "From what he said in his letters, we weren't expecting him back for months."

"Did he say why he came back?" Lin asked as she sat Meelo down.

The six year old ran over to his father, took his place on his shoulders, and started to gnaw on his head. Tenzin shook his head.

"He just spends his days practicing his earthbending." He said. "Now I guess we know why."

"Yeah, he leaves in the morning before any of us wake up!" Ikki said. "He even skips lunch!"

Lin frowned. She was glad to know that the boy was taking his training seriously, but skipping meals was dangerous for any kind of bender. She looked at Tenzin.

"Where is he?" She asked.

"On the beach, Korra and him have been practicing their earthbending since lunch." She said.

"There's a special area where they practice." Jinora said. "I'll take you there."

"I wanna go with you!" Ikki said.

"Me too!" Meelo said.

Tenzin sighed.

"Jinora, take Lin to the beach and show her where Bolin and Korra are and you two come back with me." He said, taking Ikki's hand.

Jinora nodded and led Lin to the beach while Tenzin dragged Ikki and Meelo back to the house.

When Jinora and Lin reached the beach, Jinora led her to an area where the sand was harder than the rest of the beach. Lin saw Bolin and Korra throwing chunks of sand at each

other while dodging the ones that were being thrown at them. Lin could barely recognize the boy. He had hardly any baby fat anywhere on his body, his check bones and chin

were more defined, and Lin could clearly his newly formed six-pack through his soaked shirt.

After a few minutes, Bolin stopped and fell to his knees. Korra ran over to him.

"Bolin!" She cried. "Are you okay?!"

Bolin nodded as he struggled to get up.

"I'm alright." He said. "Let's go again."

Korra sighed and shook her head.

"Bolin, you've been practicing since before dawn, you barely ate anything for breakfast, and you skipped lunch!" She said. "I've been practicing half as long as you have and I'm exhausted. I can only imagine how tried you are."

Bolin looked at her.

"Korra, tryouts are next week and I have to be ready." He said.

"Trust me kid, at the rate you're going, you're not going to make it to tryouts." A voice behind them said.

They both turned around and saw Lin walking up to them, Jinora standing a few feet behind her.

"Chief Bei Fong." Bolin said, trying to stand up strait, his muscles screaming in protest. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough." Lin said. "You and I need to talk."

She turned to Korra.

"You and Jinora go back to the house." She said.

Korra nodded and ran towards Jinora. Lin led Bolin over to a where a large, wet long had gotten stuck in the sand and sat down.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" He asked.

Lin looked at him.

"I saw your name on the list of people who are trying out for a place at the academy, but I also know that you left for the Earth Kingdom only a year ago." She said. "What are you doing back so soon? And don't tell me it got too tough because if you can't survive a year of earthbending training, then you won't last a month at the academy."

Bolin held his hands up.

"Whoa chief, calm down." He said. "I didn't quit my earbending training. In fact, my earthbending master said I was one of the best he'd ever seen."

"So you did find a master?" She asked.

"Yeah, an old guy named Haru. He told me he fought on the Day of Black Sun with the original Team Avatar." He said. "Have you heard of him?"

Lin looked out at the ocean and smiled a bit.

"My mother said he was one of the strongest earthbenders she'd ever met, besides her that is." He said. "He wanted to learn metalbending from her, but he could never get the hang of it."

She turned back to Bolin.

"So if you were doing so well, why did you leave?" She said.

Bolin let out a sigh.

"Master Haru passed away in his sleep a couple of weeks ago." He said. "Apparently, he knew he was about to die. The day of his funeral, his son gave me a letter he wrote to me before his death. He said that I knew so much already that there wasn't much left to teach me and that if I kept practicing and listening to what the earth tells me, I'll be a master in no time."

"Coming from Haru of the Earth Kingdom, that's pretty high praise. Many of his students who attended the academy graduated at or near the top of their classes and are some of the best on the force. You couldn't have picked a better master to teach you, Bolin." Lin said.

Bolin smiled, but it disappeared when Lin asked,

"Did the letter say anything else?"

Bolin was quiet for a moment, then spoke up.

"He told me he wanted me to learn metalbending." He said. "But, I've wanted to learn it even before he suggested it. That's the whole reason I went to the Earth Kingdom to begin with. I know the academy only takes the best of the best earthbenders and I..."

He kept rambling until Lin stopped him.

"Okay kid, I get it." She said. "You're not the only one who Haru suggested learned metalbending. In fact, every year he would send my mother a list of his best students that he suggested learn metalbending to see if they came to the tryouts. He continued to send the lists to me after my mother died."

"How many of his students actually went to the tryouts?" Bolin asked.

"Nearly all of them." She said. "Unfortunately, only half of them possessed the skill."

"How can you tell which ones have the skill and which ones don't?" Bolin asked.

Lin could feel her mother's bracelet shivering underneath the sleeve of her shirt; it had been doing it since she and Bolin sat down. There was no doubt in her mind that Bolin was a metalbender and a powerful one at that, once he got the proper training.

"Lets just say my mother had her ways of finding out who could bend metal and who couldn't." She said. "She taught me how to spot a metalbender from a mile away."

She stood up and turned to Bolin.

"Come on, you need to get cleaned up before dinner and I better see you eat everything on your plate." She said. "And if I ever find out that you're skipping meals again, I'll bury you myself. Got it?"

Bolin nodded.

"Yes ma'am." He said.

"Good." She said.

She walked back to the house with Bolin right behind her.

One week later, Bolin became one of only fifty people to earn a spot at the Bei Fong Metalbending Academy. Over the next two years, that number continued to go down as

people dropped out because the classes or the training became too hard for them. But no matter how difficult the training or the classes were, Bolin never gave up.

Now he would be just one of fifteen people vying to be one of Republic City's finest.


	4. Brought Back

**A/N: I'm so sorry this took so long to get out. School, work, and Thanksgiving kicked my butt. I hope the next two chapters will make up for it (I tried to **

**narrow it down to one, but there was just so many details I couldn't leave out without confusing you all). Also, Councilman Hashook is mine.**

**Here is Asami's story...**

The loud shrill of her alarm clock brought Asami out of a deep sleep. She lazily reached over to her bedside table, turned off the alarm, and switched on the lamp since it was so

early that the sun wasn't even up yet. Her small one room apartment quickly filled with light, waking Asami up more. Knowing that she had two hours until she opened for the

morning crowd, Asami got out of bed and put a kettle of water on her small stove before going about her morning routine. Half an hour later, she went down stairs to the kitchen

with a large cup of tea in hand and preheated the ovens. As she pulled the pans of morning pastries she had prepared the night before out of the icebox, Asami's thoughts turned

to three years ago, when she had no idea where her life was heading after losing almost everything.

When everyone returned to Republic City, the full impact of everything that had happened to her finally hit Asami. While she was still keeping up a brave front and a smile on her

face while she helped clean up Air Temple Island during the day, every night she would crawl into bed and cry until exhaustion sent her into sleep. This went on for a week until

the night before the brothers left for the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation.

"Pabu! Pabu, get back here!" Bolin quietly shouted as he ran after the fire ferret.

He had been getting ready for bed and was about to close his window when Pabu jumped out and made a run for it. Now the small creature was running toward the one place on

the island that Bolin knew was off limits to him.

"No Pabu, not the woman's dormitory!" He cried softly.

Pabu climbed up the siding of the building and jumped into one of the partially opened windows. Bolin ran over to the window and peeked inside and instantly knew from the

room's contents that it belonged to Asami. He tapped lightly on the window.

"Asami, you awake?" He whispered.

He saw the blankets on the bed move as Asami rolled over, climbed out of bed, and walked over to the window with Pabu nestled in her arms.

"Bolin?" She said.

"Hey, sorry about Pabu disturbing you. I tried to stop him befo..." He began.

He stopped when he saw her face and knew immediately from her red puffy eyes and her wet face that she had been crying.

"Asami, are you okay?" He said. "What's wrong?"

Asami quickly dried her face.

"Nothing." She said. "I'm fine."

"Come on, you can tell me." He said. "Maybe I can help."

Asami smiled sadly.

"I don't think you can help me, Bolin." She said. "Besides, you need your sleep. You're leaving for the Earth Kingdom in the morning."

"I'm going by train, I'll probably sleep the entire time." He said. "Please, I know talking about your problem will make you feel better. I'm a really good listener."

Asami let out a sigh.

"Okay, but we can't talk here. Meet me out on the training area in a few minutes. " She said, holding the fire ferret out to him. "You want Pabu back?"

Bolin shook his head.

"Naw, you look like you need him more than I do." He said.

He left for the training area while Asami closed the window and grabbed her robe and slippers. A few minutes later, she walked out to the training area and sat next to Bolin.

"So." He said. "Tell your old buddy Bo what's got you down."

Asami looked down at Pabu, who had curled himself into her lap, and stroked his fur as tears started to form in her eyes.

"I just can't it anymore, every time I go into the city, people walk up to me and ask me if and when I'm going to take over Future Industries and the ones who don't just look at me with anger, thinking that because my father was an equalist, that makes me one too." She said. "Then I get back here and all I see is Mako and Korra all over each other. They try to hide it when I'm around, but I've walked in on them making out a few times already. I mean, I like Korra, she and you have been the only true friends I've ever really had and I know Mako and I will be that way too someday, but seeing her kissing and loving the guy that I loved more than anything, it's just so..."

Bolin could tell that she was about to fall apart again and did the only thing he could think of. He held his arms open to her.

"Here." He said. "I know this probably won't help, but yo..."

The next thing he knew, Asami was sitting in his lap and huddled against his chest like a small child and sobbing her eyes out. Pabu quickly jumped out of her lap, climbed up, and

settled across her shoulders to avoid getting squashed as Bolin wrapped one arm around Asami and ran his other hand through her hair.

"We...never...stood...a chance...did...we?" She said between sobs. "They...had...each...others...hearts...from the...moment...they met."

Bolin let out a sigh as he thought back to the first time she met him and Mako. Even though his brother had been rude to her, he could still see the spark in her eyes whenever

she was around him.

"Yeah." He said. "They did."

Asami looked up at him and sniffled.

"You still love Korra, don't you?" She said.

Bolin smiled sadly.

"Yeah, I do. Even though I've realized that a relationship between us would never work and we're better off as friends, it's hard seeing the girl you're madly in love with your brother." He said. "But that's one of the reason why I'm going to the Earth Kingdom. Besides learning more about Earthbending, I'm hoping some time away will help me sort out my feelings."

Bolin looked down at her, reached up, and wiped her tears away.

"As for what to do about Future Industries, only you can decide what to do about the company. No matter what you decide to do, you'll have the support of me, Korra, and Mako, but you have to make the decision for yourself and not for anyone else." He said. "And don't worry about what those idiots in the city think of you. Once the truth comes out about how you helped save their butts, they're going to feel really stupid that they ever doubted you."

Asami gave him a small smile.

"How do you do it?" She said.

"Do what?" Bolin asked, confused.

"How do you know just what to say to make it seem that all is right with the world?" She asked.

Bolin smiled.

"As far as I'm concerned, it is." He said. "My brother and all my friends are fine after all that we have been through and I'm on my way to become an earthbending master." He said. "Who knows? Maybe I'll bring home a pretty Earth Kingdom girl."

Asami didn't know why, but she felt a bit jealous when she heard Bolin say that.

Three weeks after the boys left, Asami sat in the front row of City Hall next to Korra, waiting for the verdict in her father's trial. Hiroshi Sato was the last of the Equalist to go on

trial and the highest ranking since both Amon and the Lieutenant had been found dead. Now, after a week of testimony, Asami, Korra, and the rest of Republic City were about to

find out Hiroshi's fate. Just then, the door to the council's chambers opened and all five members walked out and were escorted to the roundtable by Chief Bei Fong and Captain

Saikhan, who then stood each side of the table as the council members took their places. There were also two officers standing on either side of the Defendant table and a team

of six officers guarding the front entrance of City Hall so that there would be no possible way for Hiroshi to escape if the ruling did not come out in his favor.

"Will the defendant please rise?" Tenzin said out loud.

He was holding a rolled up piece of paper.

Hiroshi and his team of lawyers, five in total, stood up.

"The decision that we, the council of United Republic, have come to on this day is final and legally binding." Tenzin announced.

He unrolled the paper and held it up.

"Mr. Hiroshi Sato, this council finds you guilty of your crimes against Republic City. Your sentence shall be life in prison without the possibility of parole." He said.

He brought the gavel down, bringing the final Equalist trail to an end. Hiroshi sat there, his face holding no emotion. Lin turned to Saikhan.

"Captain Saikhan, you and your team prepare the prisoner for transport and be ready to leave for the prison in ten minutes." Lin said.

Saikhan gave her a nod and walked over to the Defendant's table to help the other officers restrain Hiroshi and get him ready to leave. They and three of the officers guarding the

entrance would be using two of the three police satomobiles parked in front of the building to transport Hiroshi to the prison.

Meanwhile, Lin walked over to where Asami and Korra were sitting.

"Ms. Sato, once your father and the team escorting him are secured in their satomobiles, the rest of the officers and I be escorting you to another police satomobile parked in the front of the building that will take you to the port. Is there anything you would like to say to the press before then?" She asked.

Asami shook her head.

"I just want to go back to the island." She said.

Lin nodded. She could tell that the former heiress was fighting hard to keep her composure.

"We'll be leaving in a few minutes." She said, then went to inform the officers of the plan.

Korra turned to Asami.

"Do you want me to come back with you?" She asked.

Asami shook her head again.

"You need to stay here for the council meeting." She said. "I'll be okay."

Korra nodded. A few minutes later, Lin walked back over to them.

"We're ready, Ms. Sato." She said.

Asami stood up and looked at Korra.

"See you back on the island." She said before following Lin and the other officers to the front entrance.

Korra watched as the police escorted Asami out of the building, followed by Sato's lawyers, before turning back to the council, who was preparing for the weekly meeting. But just

as the meeting was coming to order, the sounds of screams came from behind the doors.

"What was that?!" The councilwoman from the Fire Nation asked.

"Sound like trouble." Korra said, getting up. "I'm gonna go find out."

"I'm coming with you." Tenzin said as he stood up.

They ran to the front entrance and just they were about to open the doors, they flew open and Lin quickly ran inside and passed them. In her arms, with a knife sticking handle

deep in her chest, was the former heiress.

"Asami!" Korra cried as she ran after Lin with Tenzin at her heels.

Lin ran over to the round table and laid Asami on it. As Korra examined her, Lin quickly explained what happened.

"Sato's lawyers were all hiding electrical gloves inside their jackets and one of them was hiding a knife. Ms. Sato was climbing into the satomobile when they attacked me, Captain Saikhan, and the rest of the officers. We tried to hold them off, but their gloves are more powerful than the ones the equalists used." She said. "It all happened so fast, they knocked us out in moments and the next thing I knew, the car containing Sato was speeding away and Ms. Sato was laying on the floor of the car with the knife in her chest."

"What about Mr. Sato?" The councilman from the Earth Kingdom asked.

"Captain Saikhan and the other officers are chasing him as we speak, they're bringing him back one way or another." Lin said.

Korra up at Hashook, the newest councilman from the Northern Water Tribe.

"Do you have any water?" She asked.

He nodded and untied the water pouch from his waist.

"I filled it this morning and haven't used it today." He said.

"Good, bring it over here." She said. "Tenzin, I'm going to need you too."

The two councilmen walked over the where Korra was leaning over Asami. She looked up at Hashook as he handed her the water pouch.

"You're don't get queasy at the sight of blood, do you? " She asked.

Hashook shook his head.

"Not after being a healer's assistant to my mother for so many years." He said.

Korra nodded and ripped Asami's coat open, exposing the wound.

"Okay, hold the knife with both hands and when I tell you, pulled it out quickly." She said. "Tenzin, take Asami's arms and hold them over her head and hold them tight, this is going to be painful and she's likely going to fight you."

Tenzin nodded, pulled the young woman's arms above her head, and held them as tightly, but as gently, as he could as Hashook took affirm hold of the knife with both hands.

Korra uncorked the pouch and bended the water onto her hands.

"Ready?" She said. "One...Two...Three...Now!"

Hashook quickly pulled the knife out of Asami's chest and less than a second later, Korra's hands were on her wound, healing it from the inside out. Asami whimpered and tried to

move away, but Tenzin kept a firm grip on her arms. Finally, the wound closed and Korra moved her hands and bended the water back into the pouch and re-corked it. Suddenly,

Asami began to cough violently as blood filled her mouth.

"What's happen?!" Lin asked.

Korra looked over at the blood-covered knife that was still in Hashook's hand.

"The knife must have damaged one of her lungs." She said. "It's starting to fill with blood."

"What can you do to stop it?" The Earth Kingdom councilman asked.

Hashook looked at Asami sadly as both her coughing and her breathing slowed to a stop.

"There's nothing we can do." He said. "She's go...

"No." Korra said. "I'm not going to let that happen."

She pulled back the collar of her shirt, reached in, and pulled out a leather string around her neck that held a small vile of water.

"Is that...?" Hashook began.

Korra nodded.

"Water from the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. Master Katara gave it to me after I completed my healer training." She said. "Tilt her head back and open her mouth."

Hashook quickly did what he was told as Korra uncorked the vile and poured it's contents into Asami's mouth before using her bending to move the glowing water down her

throat and over to her damaged lung and, with everything she had, willed the water to save her friend. A few minutes later, the glow faded and Korra pulled back. The room was

silent with everyone's eyes on the former heiress.

"Come on, Asami." Korra whispered. "Come back to us."

Just then, Asami's eyes shot up and she took a huge breath. Overjoyed, Korra pulled Asami into her arms and held her against her chest.

"K...Korra?" She said breathless. "Wha...?"

"Shh." Korra said softly. "It's okay Asami, you're safe now."

Too confused and too tired to understand what was going on, Asami just laid her head on Korra shoulder and was soon back to sleep.

"It's amazing!" The Fire Nation councilwoman said. "You've brought her back from the dead!"

But Tenzin, Lin, and Hashook didn't say anything. What they were seeing at that very moment was something they had always heard about as children, but never thought they

would see in their lifetime.

Asami's once black hair was now silvery white.


	5. Moving On When You Have Nothing Left

**A/N: Shan Ra and Asami's lawyer are mine. Also, the link to the lullaby Asami's mother sings is on my profile (and yes, it is a version of Rue's Lullaby from The Hunger Games. I wished they used this one in the movie instead of the one they did).**

**Enjoy the chapter...**

As the sun began to set on Air Temple Island, Asami began to wake up, even though she doing everything she could not to. For the first time in a long time, she had a dream

about her mother. In the dream, she was helping her mother bake all kinds of treats in kitchen at the Sato Mansion. Asami's mother loved to bake and some of Asami's fondest

memories were of her in the kitchen. Most of the time, the family's meals were prepared by the family chief and her mother's old friend Shan Ra. But anytime she was able to,

Asami's mother would be in the kitchen baking all kinds of things for her family, for parties and business functions held at the mansion, or to sell to raise money for different

charities, another thing she was passionate about. After she died. Hiroshi fired Shan Ra and all many members of his house staff and employees. At her young age, Asami

thought it was because they reminded him of her mother, but now she knew it was because they were all firebenders. In the coming years, he would let go of everyone who was

a water and earthbender until the only people working in his home and his business were non-benders.

Asami opened her eyes and sat up in her bed, noticing how dimly lit the room was and wondering why she was awake so early. The only one who probably up this early was Pema

either because of the baby or she was preparing breakfast.

"Well, doesn't look like I going back to sleep." She said to herself. "I'll go see if Pema needs any help."

After taking a few moments to stretch the stiffness of her muscles, Asami pulled back the blankets, threw her legs over the side of the bed, and stood up, only to collapsed a

second later. She looked at her legs, shocked at what just happened.

"What's going on?!" She thought. "Why can't I stand up?!"

That's when she looked around and realized that she wasn't in her room at the women's dormitory, but in the island's infirmary. Just then, the door slid open and one of the

female air acolytes walked in.

"Oh good, you're finally awake. We've all been so worried." She said. "Let's get you back into back into bed."

She walked over to Asami and helped her back onto the bed. Asami looked at her as she pulled the blankets back over her legs.

"Please, I'm so confused." She said. "Did something happen to me?"

The acolyte smiled at her sadly.

"It's best if the Avatar told you." She said softly. "I'll go get her for you."

She turned and walked out of the room. Asami let out a sigh and ran her fingers through her hair, pulling some of it over her shoulder. When she saw it, she immediately froze.

Her once wavy black hair was now strait and silvery white. She was still frozen in shock when the door slid open again and Korra walked in.

"You're awake! I wa..." She began happily.

The emotions that filled Asami became overwhelming and made her feel light headed and the next thing Korra knew, her friend was falling over the side of the bed.

"Asami!" Korra cried as she ran over and caught her before she hit the floor.

"Asami..."

Asami's eyes remained close. She knew the voice the instant she heard it, but she couldn't believe the person behind it was here. Not after they had been gone for so long.

"Come on, sweetheart. Open your eyes for me." The voice said.

Slowly, Asami opened her eyes.

"Mama?" She said.

Her mother nodded.

"Mama!" She cried as she sat up and threw her arms around her.

Asami's mother hugged her back and ran her fingers through her hair. After what felt like forever, they pulled away from each other.

"Oh Mama, I've missed you so much." Asami said.

"I've missed you too, baby." Her mother said.

Asami looked at her.

"If you're here with me, does that mean I'm dead?" She asked.

Her mother shook her head.

"No sweetie, you're not dead." She said. "This is just a dream."

Tears began to fill Asami's eyes.

"Mama, I don't know what to do anymore." She said. "I've lost the guy I truly loved, Dad tried to kill me just for standing up for something I believe in, and everyone is expecting me to take over a company that I have no idea how to run and bring it back to what it use to be. How am I supposed to move on when I've got nothing left?"

Her mother looked at her sadly.

"Oh Sweetheart, I know that it might seem that you have nothing to live for anymore. But trust me when I tell you, it will get better. Your father will be punished for what he has done to you and everyone else he has affected and as much as it's hurting now, that boy was not your true love. In fact, he's been right in front of you this whole time, you just haven't seen it yet." She said. "As for the company, what do you want to do?"

Asami looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

Her mother let out a sigh.

"Asami, I have no doubt that you can bring the company back to its former glory. But can you honestly tell me that it's something you want to do?" Her mother said.

Asami thought about what her mother was saying. It had always been assumed that she would take over the business when Hiroshi either retired or died. But that was before

she knew the kind of man her father was and what his was really using his company for. She looked at her mother.

"No, I don't want to take over the company." She said.

"Then you don't have to." Her mother said.

"But Mama, what am I suppose to do with my life?" She said. "I can't live off the kindness of the few who have shown it to me forever."

"You're in charge of your own destiny now, Asami, you can do whatever you want as long as it makes you happy." Her mother said. "When were the times in your life when you were truly happy?"

Asami didn't have to think twice.

"When you were still alive and you, me, and Shan Ra were baking in the kitchen." She said.

"Then you have your answer." Her mother said. "Now my time with you is coming to an end. In a moment, you'll fall asleep and when you wake up, you'll be back in the world of the living."

Asami looked at her mother sadly. She didn't want her to go.

"Will you rub my back and sing our song?" She asked

Her mother smiled and nodded. Assured that she had her mother for a least a few more moments, Asami laid her head on her lap. A second later, she felt her mother's hand go

up and down her back as she softly sang the lullaby she would sing to Asami every night when she was alive. Despite her best efforts to stay awake, Asami's eyes grew heavy

and finally closed. Just before she drifted off, she heard her mother whisper,

"I'll always be with you, baby."

The next thing Asami felt was something cold and wet running across her face and opened eyes as Korra placed the rag on her forehead.

"Korra?" She said as she struggled to sit up.

Korra gently placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

"Easy, we don't want you passing out again. You were hurt really bad." She said. "Wait one second."

She quickly got up and grabbed some pillows from the infirmary's cabinet and came back and placed them behind Asami, then helped sit up and lean against the pillows so that

she was comfortable.

"Thank you." Asami said. "Korra, what happened to me? Why can't I stand up and why is my hair white?"

Korra looked at her.

"You don't remember?" She asked.

"Remember what?" Asami asked.

"What happened at your father's trial?" Korra said.

"Yeah, the council found him guilty and sentenced him to life in prison, then some of the officers drove me back to the dock and I assume I took the boat back to the island." She said.

Korra sighed.

"Asami, that was a month ago. You never made it back to the island." She said. "Your father's lawyers attacked all the officers and one of them stabbed you in the chest before the five of them jumped into the car your father was in and took off."

Shocked by what Korra had told her, Asami quickly unbuttoned the first few buttons of her pajama top, and gasped at what she saw. There, on the inside of her left breast, was a long red scar. She gently touched the scar, then turned back at Korra.

"This is why my hair is white, isn't it?" She asked.

Korra nodded.

"The knife damaged your lung and it began to fill with blood and you quit breathing. I used the water Katara gave me from the Spirit Oasis at North Pole to heal it." She said. "A few seconds later, your hair turned white and you started breathing again."

"My father and his lawyers didn't get away, did they?" Asami asked.

Korra was quiet for a few moments before speaking again.

"The police chased after them till they were almost at the cliff that overlooks Yue Bay. They thought if they cornered them there, they would surrender." She said. "But instead of stopping at the cliff, your father and the lawyers drove over it and into the bay. Two of the lawyers, one of them was the one who stabbed you, managed to get out of the car and surface before the car sank and were immediately arrested and the bodies of two more lawyers washed ashore a few days later. But your father and the last two lawyers haven't been found and when the car out of the bay, it was empty." She said.

Asami looked down at her scar.

"I don't know about the lawyers, but I know that my father couldn't swim. He's probably at the bottom of the bay." She said. "My mother said he would be punished for what he's done."

"Your mother?" Korra asked.

Asami looked at her and nodded.

"I saw her just now in my dream." She said. "She told me she had no doubt that I can bring Future Industries back to what it was, but she only wanted me to do it if I truly wanted to."

"Do you want to?" Korra asked.

Asami let out a sigh.

"The business was my father's life and he tried to end mine twice." She said. "As soon as I've recovered, I'm contacting a lawyer and starting the process of selling it."

"But after everything Hiroshi has done, who would want to buy the company?" Korra asked.

Asami smirked.

"I know someone who would never pass up the chance to buy it." She said. "Especially after my father nearly cost him everything."

"So let me if I'm hearing this right? Miss Sato is offering to sell me her family's company that's worth millions of yuans, has been a constant thorn in my side for years, and framed my company by making it look like we were helping the Equalists?" Lau Gan-Lan said. "What's the catch?"

Asami's lawyer, who was a longtime friend of Tenzin's and agreed to help her, smiled at the owner of Cabbage Corp.

"No catch, Miss Sato simply wants to make a fresh start for herself." He said.

"Then why not just shut the company down? She has enough yuans to live comfortably for the rest of her life, why go to the trouble of selling the company?" Gan-Lan asked. "And, if you don't mind me asking, why isn't she here giving me this offer in person?"

"Because she just woke up from a month-long sleep and her healer doesn't want her up and about yet. I'm sure you heard that Mr. Sato paid one of his lawyers to stab her just before he tried to run after his trial." Asami's lawyer said. "As for why she didn't just shut down the company, doing that would put all the employees of Future Industries, many of whom have been with the company for years, out of work. She doesn't want them to suffer because of what her father did."

Gan-Lan looked at him.

"What are you offering?" He asked.

"Full ownership of the company, including the factories here in Republic City, Ba Sing Se, and the Fire Nation. Plus the rights to all of Future Industries' products to do with as you please." Asami's lawyer said.

Gan-Lan eyes grew large, but he quickly regained his composure.

"And your price?" He asked.

"My client believes ten millions yuans is a fair price." Asami's lawyer said.

Gan-Lan laughed.

"Are you kidding me?! We nearly went bankrupt because of what Sato did to us and we're still have not fully recovered!" He said. "One million, and that's more than fair."

"I'll meet you halfway with five million and that's our final offer." Asami's lawyer said.

Gan-Lan was quiet as he thought. Five million was more than he wanted to spend, especially with his company in the state it was in. But buying the company would be the

ultimate revenge against Hiroshi Sato and Cabbage Corp would finally be the biggest and wealthiest company in Republic City. He looked at Asami's lawyer.

"Give me a few minutes to get my lawyer down here and we can finalize the deal." He said.

"Beautiful Woman!" Meelo whispered loudly. "Beautiful Woman wake up, its time for dinner!"

Just then, the door to Asami's room opened and Ikki walked in.

"Meelo, you're not supposed to be here! Mommy, Daddy, and Korra told us to leave Asami alone while she was napping!" She said.

"But the Beautiful Woman has to eat if she wants to get strong again." Meelo said. "Maybe she's like a sleeping princess and the only way to wake her up is to kiss her!"

He climbed onto the bed and crawled over to Asami's head. Then he puckered his lip, leaned down, and placed a kiss on her cheek. A second later, Asami's eyes opened.

"See, I told you!" Meelo shouted as he jumped off the bed.

Asami groaned loudly at the sound of his voice as Korra walked inside the room with that the tray that held that night's dinner.

"Meelo, Ikki, what are you doing in here?" She asked.

"Korra, I gave the Beautiful Woman a kiss and woke her up." Meelo said proudly. "Now we have dinner in here together."

"Your mom wants you two to eat dinner at table. I'll be there as soon as I get Asami settled." She said.

Ikki and Meelo groaned and left the room, closing the door behind them. Asami slowly sat up and settled against the pillows and Korra placed the tray in her lap.

"I wish I could have dinner with everyone else." She said.

"I know, but you just woke up a couple days ago. You need to give yourself time to heal." Korra said. "Do you want me to stay while you eat?"

Asami shook her head.

"No, go ahead and eat with the rest of the family. I'll be able to eat with them soon enough." She said.

Korra nodded and got up to leave. Asami picked up her chopsticks and was about eat her first bite when Korra stopped at the door and turned back.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Your lawyer called while you were taking a nap." She said. "He said he agreed to the deal and the amount and he would send you the final paperwork. Who was the person he was talking about?"

Asami smirked.

"Lau Gan-Lan." She said.

"The owner of Cabbage Corp?" Korra asked.

"And the new owner of Future Industries." Asami said.

"What was the amount?" Korra asked

"Between one and five million yuans." Asami said.

Korra's eyes grew wide.

"Wow, now you really will never have to work a day in your life again." She said.

Asami shook her head again.

"My lawyer came up with that amount, I would have sold the company for one yuan if it got it off my hands." She said. "I'll use some of the money to pay him, then I'll split the rest amongst different charities."

"But the police still have a freeze on your trust fund and your family's accounts. What are you going to live off of?" Korra asked.

Asami smiled.

"Don't worry, I've figured that out." She said as she picked up a vegetable dumpling with her chopsticks and popped it into her mouth.

It was another week before the island's healer and Korra allowed Asami out of bed and another two weeks before they allowed her to leave the island. With some help from

Tenzin, she was able to find out to another one of her family's former employees who her father fired after her mother's murder. Now she stood in front of a small bakery in the

heart of the city, hoping that this former employee would see her as the daughter of his old friend and not the daughter of an Equalist. Taking a deep breath, Asami opened the

door to the bakery and walked inside.

"Hello?" She called out. "Shan Ra?"

"Be right out." She heard.

A minute later, a large man walked out from the back of the bakery.

"Lucky you came here when you did, I was just about to box eve..." He began.

He stopped when he saw the young woman who was now standing in his bakery.

"Asami?" He said.

Asami was surprised. Today was the first time she had ventured into the city since Hiroshi's trial and nobody recognized her because of her hair, something Asami was grateful for.

"How did you...?" She began.

"You have the eyes of my best friend." He said. "I see the stories in the newspaper were true."

Asami nodded, touching her hair, which was in a braid lying across her shoulder.

"About what my father did to me and me selling Future Industries, yes." She said. "I know it's been a while, but can we talk?"

Shan Ra looked at her for a moment, then nodded.

"I close in five minutes." He said. "Go to the back and I'll meet you there."

Asami nodded and walked to the backroom of the bakery and sat down at the small table and chairs in there while Shan Ra finished boxing up all the leftover baked goods and

closed the bakery for the night. When he got to the back, he put on the kettle for tea and turned to Asami.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" He asked.

Asami let out a sigh.

"After my father tried to have me killed, I went into a deep sleep and kept having dreams about you, me, and my mother baking in the kitchen, like we did when I was little." She said.

Shan Ra nodded, smiling at the memories that came back to him.

"I woke up after a month, but was so weak that I blacked out again after a few minutes. I had another dream about my mother, only she talked to me this time." She said. "She told me that only I could decided whether or not to take over the company, but to only do it if I truly wanted to."

"And you didn't." Shan Ra said.

She nodded as he poured the finished tea into two cups, brought them over to the table, and handed one to Asami.

"So what are you doing here? I mean, I'm happy to see you after all these years, but after the amount you got from Cabbage Corp, I would have bought myself a new identity and left town." He said.

"I'm here to ask you to take me on as a apprentice." She said.

Shan Ra spit out the tea he had been drinking.

"What did you say?!" He asked.

"I want to be your apprentice." Asami said.

"But the mo..." He began.

"Nearly gone." She said. "After using some of it to pay my lawyer, I anonymously donated two million to the city's rebuilding efforts and one million each to the Bei Fong Metal Bending Academy and the Republic City School of Healing and Hospital. What's left over is going to support me while I'm apprenticing for you and if there's anymore after that, it will go to an apartment for me to live in once the city is rebuilt."

"But the Sato mansion..." Shan Ra began again.

"Its contents were trashed since the Equalists used it as a base during the attack, but I donated the mansion itself to the hospital too." She said. "It's going to be the temporary hospital until the one in the city is being rebuilt, then it will be the actual school."

Shan Ra looked at her

"You really have thought this through, haven't you?" He asked.

Asami smiled.

"When you're confined to an island for three weeks, there really isn't much else you can do." She said.

"But are you sure you want to do this for the rest of your life, Asami? This isn't like when you were a child and help me and your mother in the kitchen." He said. "The work is exhausting and time consuming and I wake up before sunrise and go to bed after midnight six days a week."

"But are you happy?" Asami said. "Despite everything you just told me, are you happy?"

Shan Ra was quiet for a few moment, then said,

"Despite all the hard work it is to keep this place running, I get to do what I love." He said. "So yes, I'm very happy."

"That's why I want to do this." Asami said. "Shan Ra, those memories of you, me, and my mother in the kitchen were some of the happiest of my life and after everything that has happened, I've realized that I have to live my life for me and no one else."

Shan Ra let out a sigh.

"I'm not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?" He said. "You've got your mother's stubbornness, that's for sure."

He stood up, walked over to one of the shelves in the room, and pulled a large book off it before walking back over to the table. He handed the book to Asami.

"Here, you're going to need this. It's a book of recipes I've written down over the years. I'm expecting you to perfect each one of them." He said. "Teaching you everything is going to take a least a year, perfecting everything will depend on how hard you are willing to work and how well you can learn it. Also, you'll have to move into the apartment upstairs since you're going to be opening the bakery every morning and preparing the food for the morning rush after I close up at night."

It was quiet for a few moments before Asami said,

"When do I start?"

"Next week, that way you can get moved and settled in upstairs." He said. "But as long as you're here, you can come with me to the park."

"Why the park?" Asami asked.

"I do this every night when I have left over food from the day." Shan Ra said. "There's a man there who the leader of a group of homeless people who live in the tunnels of the city and have no money to pay for food, so I give my leftovers to him."

Asami instantly knew whom he was talking about.

"Are you talking about Gommu?" She asked.

Shan Ra nodded.

"Yes, that's his name." He said. "Do you know him?"

Asami smiled.

"Let's just say he helped me and my friends out when we were in trouble." She said.

One week later, Asami was moved into the apartment above the bakery and Shan Ra put her to work. Every morning Asami was up before dawn, baking for the morning rush.

After the rush was over, she would help Shan Ra prepare and bake whatever needed restocking. Then, after closing the bakery at five o'clock and having dinner, Shan Ra would

have her prepare and bake one order of a savory and one order of a sweet baked good from the book he gave her to see if she was learning the recipes correctly. While they were

in the oven, she would prepare the food for the next day's morning rush, cover them, and stick them in the icebox so that they would be ready for baking in the morning and

help Shan Ra clean the front and back of the bakery. The work was exhausting and most nights Asami was asleep the second her head hit the pillow. But for the first time since

her mother's death, Asami was doing something she loved and she wouldn't trade her new life for her old one for anything.

One day, nearly a year after she started her apprenticeship, Asami had finished cleaning up the back of the bakery and was waiting for her two baked goods to finish in the oven.

She started on them early that day since she was going to have dinner and spend the night on Air Temple Island, something she usually did on her day off. In the front of the

bakery, Shan Ra was finishing sweeping the floor and just as eager to leave Asami was. Just then, the timer on the ovens went off and there was a knock at the door. As Asami

opened the ovens and took the trays out while Shan Ra turned to the door.

"Sorry, we're closed." He called out.

The knocking happened again. Shan Ra went to the door, unlocked it, and opened it only slightly.

"Sorry sir, we're closed for the day. We'll be open again the day aft..." He started to say.

"But I'm not here for food, even though I'm starving right now. I'm here to see Asami." The young man said.

Shan Ra looked at him.

"What do you want with Asami?" He asked.

"I'm a good friend of hers." The young man said. "I've been in the Earth Kingdom for the past year and just got back in town and wanted to see her."

Asami looked up and walked to the doorway to the back of the bakery.

"Bolin?" She called out.

The young man looked behind Shan Ra and saw her in the doorway.

"Asami!" He said.

She ran over to the front door and jumped into his arms. After a few moments, they separated.

"What are you doing here?" She said. "I thought your training in the Earth Kingdom would take longer than just a year."

Bolin sighed.

"It's a long story." He said. "Are you free for dinner, say on Air Temple Island? I could really use some of Pema's home cooking."

"You and me both." She said.

She turned to Shan Ra.

"Do you need me to do anything else before I leave?" She said.

"Did you finish cleaning the back?" He said.

"Yes." She said.

"And your food for tonight is out of the oven?" He said.

"Cooling on the racks right now." She said.

Shan Ra smiled.

"Go on, get out of here." He said. "I'll see you the day after tomorrow."

Asami smiled and ran to grab her overnight bag that was still in her apartment. A minute later, she and Bolin were on their way to the port.

Later that night, after having dinner with the airbending family, Asami and Bolin were sitting at the training pavilion, looking up at the star-lit sky, and catching up on what they

had been doing for the past year. In between them, curled up and sound asleep, was Pabu.

"So you came home because you earthbending teacher died?" Asami said. "Why not just stay and find another one?"

"Because my teacher said that I had pretty much knew everything there is to know and as long as I keep working at it, I will become a master earthbender in no time." He said. "Plus, there was something else Master Haru wanted me to do. Something I've been planning to do once my earthbending training was complete."

"What's that?" Asmai asked.

"I want to learn metalbending and become a police officer." He said. "But you have to be the best of the best to get into the academy. The entrance tests are in two weeks and I plan on training hard everyday until then, so this maybe the last time I see you until after the tests are over."

"That's okay." Asami said. "Shan Ra keeps me so busy at the bakery that those two weeks will probably fly by."

"I can't believe you're the apprentice of probably the best baker in the city!" He said.

Asami let out a sigh.

"I guess it took my father trying to kill me a second time for me to wise up and realize that I wanted nothing to do with his company." She said.

Bolin looked at her sadly. It was quiet for a while, then Asami spoke again.

"So where's the girl you were supposed to fall in love with and bring back here?" She said.

"Didn't have time to find one. Master Haru was training me so hard and so long that when I wasn't training or eating, I was sleeping." He said. "Plus, something happen that made me forget about that."

"What?" Asami asked.

"Korra sent me a wire telling me what happened at the trial. After I read it, I wanted to get on the first train back to Republic City and I would have if Master Haru hadn't talked me out of it, telling me that if you were in serious trouble, Korra would have told me to come back and that she had everything under control. Still, I was crazy with worry until Korra sent me another wire a month later, telling me you had woken up." He said. "I understand now how Mako felt when Korra was taken by Tarrlok. That feeling of completely helplessness not knowing if the person you care about is sick, hurt, or worse. That's when it hit me that..."

He let out a sigh before saying,

"I'm falling in love with you, Asami."

Asami looked at him, shocked at what he just said.

"You're...in love with me?" She asked.

Bolin nodded.

"I'm so sorry Asami, I know I'm probably the last person you want to be with consider how things between you and Mako ended. But I can't help how I feel and if you don't want us to be together, just say it now and get it ov..." Bolin said.

His ramblings stopped when Asami grabbed his shirt and pulled his lips to hers. After a couple seconds, she pulled back.

"I feel the same way, Bolin." She said.

Bolin was shocked. He had prepared to have his heart broken again, not for her to return his feelings.

"You..." He said. "You do?!"

Asami nodded.

"Ever since you save me that day at the airfield, I knew I liked you more than a friend. But I was too scared to admit it to myself or to you after what happened between your brother and me." She said. "But after everything that's happened, I've realized that I can't keep lying to myself about it anymore. Bolin, I'm in love with you too."

Bolin was too shocked to speak, so he did the only thing he could think of and pulled Asami into another kiss, this one more passionate than the last. Asami, mindful of the still

sleeping fire ferret, carefully maneuvered herself over Pabu and into Bolin's lap, sliding her arms around his neck. Bolin wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him for a few

minutes before unwrapping them and using one hand to move under her shirt and touch the skin of her back. The feeling of his fingers on her flesh brought Asami out of her

daze.

"Wait, stop." She said.

Bolin pulled back.

"What? Did I do something wrong?" He asked.

"Spirits no." Asami said as she got up from his lap and started to straighten herself up. "It's just a little too soon for us to be doing something like that."

Bolin looked at her.

"So, you want to be with me?" He said as stood up and straightened up his clothes.

Asami smiled, leaned down, and placed one more small kiss on his lips, then she pulled back and whispered,

"Does that answer your question?"

Over the next year, Asami and Bolin's relationship grew slowly. Everyone who knew them thought it was because Bolin made it into the metalbending academy and with Asami's

schedule at the bakery, they were only able to see each other on their one day off a week. But the real reason was because Asami didn't want to rush into a relationship like she

had with Mako and Bolin had never really been in a real relationship before and was constantly scared that he was going to do something wrong and ruin what he had with her.

But after a few months, he became more relaxed and Asami realized that Bolin loved her and only her. The day she realized that, she went to a local healer and got on

contraception herbs, knowing that it wouldn't be long until they were ready to take the next step in their relationship.

Three weeks later, it was the anniversary of the founding of the United Republic and Asami and Shan Ra were in a secluded area of the park handing Gommu the leftovers from

that day. They were trying not to bring attention to themselves since there were celebrations going on a few feet away.

"Sorry there isn't much today, Gommu. But you know how it is being Founding Day." Shan Ra said.

"That's quite alright, my friend." Gommu said.

He looked at Asami.

"See you next time, Miss." He said, then took off for his bush and jumped behind it.

Asami turned to her boss.

"That's strange." She said. "Usually he says goodbye to both of us."

"Oh, he already said goodbye to me." Shan Ra said.

He was looking around the park like he was trying to memorize it.

"Shan Ra, are you okay?" She asked.

Shan Ra turned to her.

"I know you're anxious to find your boyfriend, but do you mind walking with me for a while?" He asked.

Asami, who was growing more confused by the second, just nodded. She and Shan Ra walked around the park for a while, watching the Founding Day festivities and being quiet

the entire time. Finally, they stopped at a park bench, and Shan Ra spoke up.

"I can't wait to see them again." He said.

"See what?" Asami asked.

"The stars, you never see them here, but I remember when I was a kid and my family went on vacation to Ember Island. The sky was covered with stars and they were so bright that you could find your way around in the dead of night." He said. "I hope they'll be just as bright when I get there."

"So you're going on vacation and you're scared I won't be able to handle things while your gone?" Asami said. "Shan Ra, you don't have to worry. After everything you taught me over the past two years, everything will be under control while you're gone."

Shan Ra looked at her.

"Asami, I'm not going to Ember Island for vacation." He said. "I'm moving there."

Asami was shocked.

"You're moving?! But what about the bakery?!" She said.

Shan Ra gave her a small smile.

"Asami, I haven't really been honest with you about a couple of things." He said. "I've been training you these past two years not to be my apprentice, but to be my replacement."

"Your replacement?" She said. "You're giving me the bakery?"

Shan Ra reached into his back pocket and pulled out a key ring that held two keys and a small piece of paper. After taking off the key to his house, he handed the ring and the

piece of paper to Asami.

"My lawyer has the papers giving you ownership, I've already signed them. Since tomorrow is your day off, go to his office, sign them, and the bakery is yours." He said. "Just promise me that you'll keep taking the leftovers to Gommu, I gave him my word that you would continue to do it after I left."

Asami nodded and took the piece of paper and the key ring, still too shocked to say anything. Shan Ra placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Asami, I know that this is a lot to take in, but I wouldn't have done this if I didn't believe you're ready for it." He said. "You've improved so much over the past two years and I know that you will take the bakery to the next level."

Asami looked at him for a second, then threw her arms around him. Shan Ra was too surprised to do anything for a moment, then smiled and returned the hug. After a few

moments, Asami pulled away.

"Thank you." She said. "I promise I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." He said. "Now go and have fun with your boyfriend."

Asami smiled and got up from the bench. As she began to walk away, she stopped and turned around.

"Shan Ra, what was the other thing you weren't honest with me about?" She asked.

Shan Ra smiled again.

"The cookbook I gave you that night, the one whose recipes I wrote down over the years and tested you on, those recipes aren't mine." He said. "They belonged to a friend of mine who spent years collecting family recipes and writing them down in the book. Some even date back to before her family came to the Fire Nation colonies. When she finished the book, she gave it to me for safe keeping until her daughter grew up and she could pass the recipes onto her. She died a few days later and I took the book with me after her husband fired me. I didn't know if I would ever see her daughter again, but I always had the book ready to give her if I did."

Asami couldn't believe it.

"Are you saying..." She began to say.

Shan Ra nodded and said,

"Asami, you've been cooking you're mother's recipes this entire time."

A year and a month later, Asami once again stood in the park with a box of that day's leftovers in her arms, waiting for Gommu. When she saw his hand sticking out of his usual

bush and waving her over, she walked over and handed him the box.

"Here you are, Gommu." She said. "Now tomorrow's my day off, so no leftovers."

"That's okay, Miss. We'll just have our usual street gruel." He said. "See you next time."

Asami watched as he disappeared again, her stomach turning at the thought of the disgusting food she, Korra, and the brothers had eaten while in hiding from the Equalists,

then she left the park and headed to Narook's to have dinner with Bolin to celebrate the end of his tests.

**Endnote: I'm so so sorry this is late everyone. But between my last semester of school, the last few days of my job, going back to my home state for Christmas and New Years, coming home, and starting a new job, I've barely had time to sleep, much less type up this mammoth chapter (seriously, it's thirty-three pages long). ****But now my life has slowed down a bit, so I'm able to put up chapters sooner and starting in the next chapter, we'll get back to the main story.**

**Thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**Until next time!**

**Ruby Sapphire Rose**


	6. Coming in a Week, Ready or Not

**A/N: Really quick note. After rereading the last chapter, I decided to take out the last paragraph and put it in this one (I also changed it up a little bit). **

**Also, the midwife is mine and for those you who weren't aware, "lying in" is a period of time when a pregnant woman rests in bed either before or after ****giving birth (a more common term for it is "bed rest").**

**Enjoy the chapter...**

Three hours after arriving from the South Pole, Korra awoke to find herself in her room at Air Temple Island. She wanted so badly to believe that the past three and a half months

had just been a bad dream that she had just woken up from. But one look at her parents' blanket, which was still wrapped around her, forced Korra to face reality. Realizing that

sleep was now going to be impossible, Korra sat up and got out of bed, holding onto the blanket. She began to walk to the door when she suddenly felt something warm and wet

run across her hand and turned to see her beloved companion.

"Naga!" She whispered as she knelt in front of the polar bear-dog and threw her arms around her neck. "I missed you so much!"

She had wanted to take Naga with her, but since she wanted to get to the South Pole as soon as possible and Naga couldn't fit on Oogi, she had been forced to leave her behind.

As Korra pulled away from her, Naga looked at her sadly, knowing that something was wrong.

"I was too late to save Mom and I couldn't save Dad, girl." She said. "I failed them."

Naga gave her a whimper and nuzzled her affectionately. Korra laid against her side and pulled the blanket tighter around her. Tears began to form in her eyes, but Korra quickly

wiped them away. The funerals were over and so was her time of mourning. She knew that she had to move on, no matter how much it was killing her inside.

"Jinora, can you go see if Korra wants to join us for breakfast?" Pema asked the next morning as she half-walked and half-waddled into the dining room with a tray that held a

large bowl of oatmeal and six other small bowls. This was the biggest she had ever been while pregnant and she didn't know why. She had eaten the same foods with this

pregnancy that she had during her last four and had never gotten this big.

Jinora nodded, put her book down, and walked toward Korra's room while her mother starting feeding her brothers and sister. Across her shoulders lay Pabu, who Jinora had been

taking care of the week that Mako was in the South Pole. She got to the room and opened the door, expecting to find Korra in her bed. Instead, she found the bed empty.

"She must be getting ready for the day." Jinora said to herself.

She was about the close the door when she heard what sounded like a loud yawn. She looked inside and saw Naga looking up at her sleepily and curled up against her, still asleep,

was the Avatar. Pabu jumped off Jinora's shoulders and ran over to Korra, climbed up her arm, and curled himself around her shoulder like he had with Jinora. The feeling of him

running up her arm caused Korra to wake up and she opened her eyes, reached up, and stroked his head.

"Hey Pabu." She said softly. "How did you get in here?"

She looked over and saw Tenzin's oldest child standing next to the door.

"Hi Jinora." She said as she reached up and stiffness out of her limbs. "Is it morning already?"

Jinora nodded.

"Mom wanted to know if you were joining us for breakfast." She said.

Korra nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be right there." She said.

Jinora turned to leave. But before she did, she turned back to Korra.

"Hey Korra." She said.

Korra looked at her.

"I really missed you." She said. "We all did."

Korra gave her a small smile.

"I miss you all too." She said. "Go on, I'll be there in a minute."

Jinora nodded again, then left the room.

A few minutes later, Korra walked into the dinning room.

"Good morning." She said.

Pema gave her a small sad smile.

"Good morning Dear." She said.

She filled the last empty bowl with oatmeal and handed it to Korra. As she began to eat, she noticed that two people were missing from the table.

"Where's Mako and Tenzin?" She asked.

"Mako had to go to in the city to talk with Aunt Lin about the police guarding the arena during the pro-bending championship. He didn't want to though. He kept saying that if the championships weren't in two weeks and the fact that he was suppose to have this meeting last week, he would have stayed with you." Jinora said.

"He said he'd be back as soon as the meeting is over and he's going to see if Asami and Bolin can come back with him." Pema said.

Korra nodded, happy about the possibility of seeing her friends after so long.

"What about Tenzin?" She asked.

"Dad's at City Hall." Meelo said, his mouth full of oatmeal.

"Eww Meelo, quit talking with your mouth full!" Ikki cried.

"There's a council meeting today?" Korra asked. "Why didn't he wake me up to go with him?"

Now that she was a fully realized Avatar, or would be once she passed her airbending test, Tenzin was having her sitting in during the council meeting to keep up on with what

was happing in the United Republic of Nations.

"The meeting was yesterday. He just went in to catch up on what he missed." Pema said. "Besides, there's something I need you do for me today."

"What?" Korra asked.

"Tenzin should be back in time for lunch, afterwards me and him have to go back into the city to see my midwife for my final check up before my due date and then we're going to eat at our favorite vegetarian restaurant for dinner." She said. "If you feel up to it, would you and your friends mind watching the kids for the rest of the afternoon?"

Korra nodded.

"Sure." She said. "And I'm sure they won't mind either."

She knew that Pema and Tenzin needed some time to themselves before they became parents for the fifth time. Plus, watching the kids would get her mind off her own parents.

At the bakery, Asami was awoken not by her alarm clock, but by the sunlight shining through the curtains of her apartment's windows. She groaned and tried to roll over, only to

be meet with a broad chest and a pair of strong arms wrapping more securely around her. She smiled and placed a kiss on Bolin's chest.

"Morning Sweetie." She said sleepily.

Bolin stretched his arms above his head before relaxing and running his fingers through Asami's white hair.

"I hate being waking up to the sun in my eyes." He said. "Why didn't we spend the night on the island? The sun doesn't wake you up there."

"No, instead you're woken up by four little airbenders using their bending to blast your door open and yelling that it's time to wake up. Plus, we would have never been able to do what we did last night there." She said.

She sat up a little bit and looked at her alarm clock to see what time it was before adding,

"And we would have never been able to sleep in till noon."

"Good point." Bolin said. "We'll see them later tonight anyway. What do you want to do until then?"

Asami smirked.

"I have a few things in mind." She said.

She leaned down and pressed her lips against his. Bolin kissed her back as she straddled his waist as the kiss became passionate. She was moving down from his lips to his neck

when they both heard the telephone ring downstairs. They tried to ignore it since the bakery was closed that day, but the ringing didn't stop and finally, Asami groaned and pulled

away from Bolin, got out of bed, and grabbed her robe. Bolin rolled over onto his side.

"Come on Asami, it's your day off." Bolin said.

"Sorry Bo, but it has to be important if they're not hanging up. I'll be right back." She said before leaving the room.

Bolin groaned and rolled back over onto his back and looked up at the ceiling. He and Asami hadn't see each other for the past two weeks because of his preparing for his police

and metalbending tests and they only had a few hours to themselves before tonight and he didn't want to waist it on someone who couldn't remember that the bakery was

closed today.

Asami ran downstairs to the front of the bakery, grabbed the telephone, and crouched down, hoping that no one outside could see her in her robe.

"Sun n' Stars Bakery, how may I help you?" She said.

"Asami, it's me." Mako said.

"Mako? When did you and Tenzin get back?" She asked.

"Late last night. I meant to call you earlier, but my meeting with Bei Fong ran long." He said. "Korra came back with us."

Asami's breath hitched. If Korra came back with them, that could only mean one thing.

"And her father?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

Mako sighed.

"He died two days after we got there." He said. "I was wondering if you and Bolin wanted to come with me back to the island to see her. I know she would love to see you two."

"Of course we'll come." Asami said. "We'll meet you at the dock in half an hour."

"Alright, see you then." Mako said.

Asami hung up the phone and ran back upstairs. The second Bolin saw her he knew something was wrong.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Change of plans, we have to wash up, get dressed, and be at the dock in half an hour." She said.

"Why, did something happen?" Bolin asked as he got out of bed and began to search his bag for some clothes.

"That was Mako on the telephone. He and Tenzin got back late last night." She said. "With Korra."

"She's back? That's great!" Bolin said, stopping what he was doing. "Her dad must have gotten better."

Asami shook her head sadly.

"No Bolin, he didn't." She said. "He died two days after Mako and Tenzin got there."

Bolin's face fell.

"Oh no." He said. "Poor Korra."

Asami nodded.

"I'm getting in the shower." She said. "Be ready to get in once I'm out."

Bolin nodded and continued to look for clean clothes as Asami headed for the bathroom.

Thirty minutes later, the couple walked up to the dock where Mako was waiting for them. The three of them boarded the boat to the island and were soon on their way.

"How's Korra?" Bolin asked.

"Mentally and physically exhausted." Mako said. "Last night was the first full-night sleep she's had in weeks and I didn't see her cry once during her father's funeral or the remainder of the time we were there."

"People grieve in different ways, Mako." Asami said.

"Believe me, I know." Mako said as turned to his brother and they briefly thought about their own parents' dead. "But I don't think she's truly accepted the fact that her parents are gone. She kept going over the funeral arrangements even after Tenzin and Master Katara made all of them. Then after the funeral and up till the morning we left, she kept going through her parents' belongings deciding what to take back with her and what to give to the village."

"So you think she's trying to keep herself busy so she won't have to think about it?" Bolin said.

"Yeah, I think so." Mako said.

They landed on Air Temple Island and walked down the boat ramp to find Pema and Tenzin standing on the dock.

"What are you two going?" Asami asked.

"The city to see my midwife, then we're going have to dinner at our favorite vegetarian restaurant." Pema said.

"How's Korra?" Mako asked.

"So far today she's doing well." Pema said. "She's practicing her airbending at the spinning gates while Jinora, Ikki, and Meelo are having their schooling and Rohan is taking his nap."

Asami, Bolin, and Mako nodded and thanked Pema and Tenzin and left for the spinning gates.

After taking a moment to prepare herself, Korra shot a gust of air through the gates before running toward them. Before she left for the South Pole, she could clear these gates in

no time. Now it was like her first day of training. She kept running in to the gates and ending back up at the start. After falling on her backside for the fifth time, Korra was

becoming frustrated. She turned around and looked at Naga and Pabu, who was sitting on his usually spot on top of the polar bear-dog's head.

"What can't I do this, Naga?" She said.

The companion groaned and the fire ferret chirped response. Just then, Korra heard a familiar voice call out,

"Korra!"

She looked and saw Asami, Bolin, and Mako walking toward her. She ran over to them with Pabu at her heels. Bolin immediately pulled her into a hug.

"I missed you so much!" He said as Pabu ran up his body and settled across his shoulders.

"I missed you too, Bo." She said, hugging him back. "Hey, Mako told me that you took your metalbending and police exams yesterday. Did you pass?"

"I don't know. Chief Bei Fong said I should get the results in a week." He said.

"Korra, are you doing okay?" Asami asked as Korra gave her a hug.

"I'm fine, I was just preparing for my airbending test." She said. "I'm a little rusty since I didn't practice while I was in...away. But I think I'm starting to get back into the swing of things, want to watch?"

"Sure." Mako said.

He, Asami, and Bolin walked over to Naga sat down, and leaned against her as Korra got herself ready for another go at the gates. Taking a deep breath, she summoned another

strong gust and sent it at the gates, making them spin at a rapid pace, then ran toward them. This time, she managed to make it halfway through before the gates began to

fight back. After being knocked around for a minute, she landed hard three feet away from the starting point. Now angry, Korra jumped to her feet, threw her head back, and let

out a roar. Her friends watched in shock as fire erupted from her mouth and hands for several moments before she fell to her hands and knees. Mako immediately got up and ran

over to her with Asami and Bolin right behind him. He knelt next to his girlfriend and placed a hand on her back.

"Korra." He said sadly.

Korra looked up at them with tears in her eyes before she whipped them away angrily.

"I don't understand! Before I left, I could clear those gates in a minute, sometimes less! Now I'm lucky if I can halfway through without those stupid things slamming me back to the entrance!" She said. "I mean, I know I didn't practice while I was gone, but there's no reason for me to be this bad!"

"Korra, it's okay." Asami said. "You've been under so much stress for the past few weeks, maybe it's effecting your airbending."

"Yeah, you've only been home for a day and haven't been able to settle back in yet. Once you do, I'm sure your airbending will return to normal." Bolin said.

Just then, a female air acolyte walked up to them.

"Avatar Korra, is everything alright? We saw fire coming from this direction." She said.

Korra nodded and stood back up.

"Yeah, I just became really excited and I didn't want to damage anything, so I shot my flames toward the sky." She said.

"Oh...Okay." The air acolyte said, deciding not to push any further. "Well, I have somebody who just woke up from their nap and demanded I bring him to you."

At that moment, Rohan ran out from behind her.

"Korwa!" He screamed as he ran toward her as fast as his cubby little legs could carry him.

Korra smiled, knelt down, and took the little boy into her arms before setting him on her hip.

"Hey Little One." She said, using Rohan's nickname.

"Don't dall me wittle!" Rohan said. "I'm not wittle anybore, I'm donna be a bid bodder!"

"You're right, you are." Korra said. "Well Bid Bodder, let's go see what we can do while we wait for your brother and sisters to finish their schooling."

She turned to her friends and boyfriend.

"Are you guys coming?" She asked. "You could stay here and try to go through the gates, but without any air, they're pretty much useless."

"We'll be right there." Mako said.

Korra nodded and walked toward the courtyard. When she was sure Korra couldn't hear them, Asami spoke up.

"You're right Mako, she is trying to keep herself busy." She said.

Mako nodded.

"I'm just worried about what we're going to do when the full impact of what's happened finally hits her." He said sadly.

"There's nothing we can do." Asami said. "Except be there for her when it does."

Meanwhile, Tenzin and Pema were watching as Pema's midwife examined Pema's stomach. This was the first time they had used a midwife who wasn't an air acolyte because the

island's midwife, who had delivered their first four children, died just after Pema found out she was pregnant and her daughter, who would be taking over as the island's midwife,

was still in training at the Southern Air Temple and would be for the next year and a half. Luckily, another air acolyte couple that had recently had their first child recommended

another midwife in the city who methods were similar to those of the air acolytes. Today, Pema and Tenzin were having their final check-up and were going to go over their birth

plan before Pema's due date next week.

"Well, everyone looks and sound great. You're right on schedule to deliver next week." The midwife said. "You should begin your lying in starting tomorrow so that you'll have enough strength to have this baby."

Pema nodded as she sat back up and rearranged her clothes to cover up her stomach. Lying in was not a new concept for her since she had done with her first three pregnancies.

The only time she hadn't done it was with Rohan and it was became all the stress going on around that time caused her to go into labor a week early.

"So should we call you when my labor starts?" She asked.

"Yes, but I won't have to come right away." She said. "Give me a call when you start experiencing labor pains so that I can get ready, then call me again when your pains get down to five minutes apart or your water breaks."

Both Tenzin and Pema nodded.

"By the way, have you two thought up any names yet?" The midwife asked.

They looked at each other. They had discussed names through out the pregnancy, but none of them had seemed right.

"Actually, that's the one thing we haven't done." Pema said.

"Well, you better thinks of some quick. Because this baby is coming in a week, ready or not." The midwife said.


	7. Talk to Someone

**A/N: Okay, I really hate to be this person, and I'm grateful for those of you who have added this story to your favorites and alert lists, but can I please get****some more reviews. I'm not going so far to say that I'm not going to update unless I get a certain number of reviews, but I would still like to hear what you guys think about this story because, like everything else I write, I'm really putting my heart into it.**

**Also, I've joined Tumblr and An Archive of our Own (links to each one are in my profile, they don't have much right now, but they will soon). I did this in light of what happened a few months ago when a bunch of stories were removed because they were deemed too graphic. So if this happens to me in the future, the removed story will be on AO3. **

**With all that said, here is the next chapter...**

One week later, word from Chief Unalaq that the situation in the North Pole was finally under control and the sickness was contained. But with that good news also came news of

the destruction that the epidemic had caused. Every family had lost at least one person to the sickness, most had lost two or three, and some families were completely wiped out.

So the council had voted to send the United Forces to the North Pole to help in anyway they could.

Tenzin was sitting in his office at City Hall trying to get some work done for the next morning's council meeting. But his mind wasn't on his work or the meeting, but on Korra.

The night after they returned from the South Pole, Mako told him about his concerns for Korra and what had happened at the gates that day. Tenzin brushed off his concern

saying that they had to give her time to adjust to being back in Republic City and what had happened to her. But as the week passed, Tenzin himself began to grow concerned.

Korra continued to throw herself into her airbending training and when she wasn't training, she was helping take care of the kids while he worked on council business and Pema

was lying in. She hadn't been to morning meditation since they returned and Tenzin hadn't seen her talk or show any emotion about her parents and when he tried to bring

them up, Korra would change the subject. He was still deep in thought when he heard a knock on the doorframe of his office.

"Come in." He said, not looking up from his work.

He heard someone walk into the room and then a voice he knew all too well.

"Come on Twinkletoes, I had to skip lunch today so I'm famished." Lin said. "Plus, I have an important letter that a certain earth and metalbender has been waiting for."

Tenzin looked at his longtime friend.

"I'm sorry Lin, but I've got to stay and finish this paperwork before tomorrow's council meeting. You're going to have to take to get to the island by boat." He said. "Don't worry, I've already called ahead and they're expecting you at the docks."

Lin looked at him.

"Mr. Punctual isn't prepared? That's new." She said.

"Well, I've had a lot on my mind." He said.

Lin let out a sigh.

"Tenzin, Pema's only a day over due and..." She began.

"It's not Pema I'm worried about, she's done this four times already and I know she'll be fine." He said. "It's Korra, she's not handling her parents' death well."

"What do you mean?" Lin asked.

Tenzin explained how Korra had been acting since they returned from the South Pole.

"She's really scaring me, Lin." He said. "I'm afraid if she doesn't open up soon, she's going to...

He stopped, but Lin knew what he was going to say.

"To wind up like I did." Lin finished for him. "Go ahead, you can say it."

Tenzin looked at her.

"I just don't understand why she won't open up to me." She said. "I know what she's going through."

Lin wanted to tell him that he had no idea what Korra was going through, but then decided against it. The airbender was stressed enough as it was.

"Do you think you might be able to talk to her?" Tenzin asked. "Please Lin, I don't know what else to do."

"Alright, you don't have to beg. I'll talk to her, but if she's anything like I was, I can't promise you anything." She said. "Now you better hurry up and finish your work. Besides the fact that you've got a wife who could go into labor at any moment, I heard on the radio that there's a large storm that's coming in from the Earth Kingdom that's suppose to hit sometime in the next few hours."

Tenzin nodded.

"I'll be there as soon as I can." He said.

Lin nodded and left for the docks.

By the time Lin arrived on the island, the sky was already starting to darken. She was met by Bolin, Meelo and Rohan, who leaped towards her the second she stepped off the

ramp.

"Herwo Wady!" He cried.

Lin caught him in her arms and looked at the three year-old before turning to his brother.

"You taught him that, didn't you?" She said.

Meelo nodded, smiling proudly. Lin turned to Bolin.

"Where's Korra?" She asked.

Bolin let out a sad sigh.

"At the spinning gates, she's been there all day except for the few minutes it took her to eat lunch. She said she finally figured out how to spin the gates and go through them all by herself." Bolin said. "Jirona and Ikki went to go get her since it looks like it's going to rain soon, but that was a while ago."

Lin nodded and sat Rohan down.

"Alright, you boys go back to the house. I'll go get them." She said.

Bolin nodded, took Meelo and Rohan by the hand, and walked back to the house while Lin headed for the spinning gates.

"Come on Korra, you've practice enough for today and it's about to rain." Jinora said.

"Okay, let me go through the gates just one more time." Korra said. "I nearly got through last time."

Jinora and Ikki were silent as they watch Korra send another gust of air at the gates and rush into them. Out of the corner of her eye, Ikki saw someone come up the stairs and

turned to see that it was Lin.

"Aunt Lin!" She cried as she ran toward her with Jinora at her heels.

Lin smiled and hugged both of both.

"Aunt Lin, Korra won't come in with us and it about to rain." Jinora said.

"Yeah, if she doesn't come in soon, she's gonna get all wet and not get any food." Ikki said.

Lin smiled at them sadly.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure she comes in." She said. "Go back to the house, we'll be there soon."

Jinora and Ikki did as they were told and left for the house as Lin walked over to the spinning gates, which were once again pushing Korra around like a rag doll. When she was

finally landed hard on her back, she looked up and came face to face with the chief of police.

"Not bad kid, you nearly made it through. Did better than I did the times that Tenzin and I tried to get me through those things." She said. "I'm still surprised our parents never found out."

Korra looked at her as she got to her feet.

"If Tenzin sent you here to force me to talk about my parents' dea..." She began.

"He did." Lin said, stopping her. "But I'm not going to force you to talk if you don't want to."

Korra nodded.

"Good, because if he tried to tell me one more time that he knows what I'm going through, I'm going to scream." She said.

"You're right." Lin said. "There are only four other people in your life who have been through what you have and he isn't one of them."

Korra was about to agree with her, but then she realized what Lin was saying. She looked at her.

"You mean, your mother?" She said.

Lin slowly nodded.

"Come sit with me." She said, motioning to the stairs.

Korra followed her over to the stairs and sat down next to her. After a few moments of silence, Lin began to talk.

"What I'm about to tell you is something I don't like to talk about for obvious reasons, but the year that Aang passed away was hands down the worst and hardest year of my life." She said. "The beginning of that year, we lost my Uncle Sokka, the man who had been the father that my own father didn't bother to be. Then, three months after Aang's death everything with Tenzin and Pema happened. But through out my life and especially that year, my mother was my rock; the one person I knew would be there no matter what. Then one day, a month after I moved back home, she left for work and never came back."

She paused for a few moments before continuing.

"I had moved back in with my mother after Tenzin and I broke up and threw myself into my work to keep my mind off everything that had happened." She said. "I had been working a double homicide that had connections to the Triple Threat Triads for forty-eight hours strait and when I got home at dawn, I could hear my mother moving around the house as she got ready for work. But I was so tired that I didn't bother to go tell her goodbye, I just went to my room, bended my uniform off, and fell into bed as I heard her walk out the door. The next time I woke up was to the sound of the phone ringing. It was the Republic City hospital telling me that the Triple Threat Triad had attacked my mother and two other officers while they were escorting the prisoner I had arrested to City Hall for his arrangement. One of the officers was in critical condition, the other one died at the scene...and my mother died by the time they got her to the hospital."

She became silent again and Korra could tell she was trying to hold her composure. After a while, Lin continued.

"My mother named me Chief of police in her will and I once again threw myself into my work. During the few times I wasn't working, I went down to the station's gym and worked out until I was too tired to move so that I would have to sleep in the bunk room and not go back home. I also started having nightmares, so I was barely sleeping during that time. Then, late one night, four months after my mother's death and the night after Tenzin and Pema's wedding, everything boiled over. I was working out in the gym, running on very little food, and had been awake for the past three nights because of the nightmares." She said. "I got two hits on the punching bag before I was hit with a massive headache, followed by the worst stomachache I'd ever had. The last thing I remember is falling to my hands and knees on the training mat, then I blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the infirmary on Air Temple Island to Kya using her waterbending to heal my lungs because I apparently threw up after I blacked out and inhaled some of the vomit into my lungs, causing me to develop pneumonia. When she realized I was awake, she threw her arms around me, started to cry, and asked me why I didn't come to her or Aunt Katara sooner and let myself get like this. I tried to explain that I didn't want to burden any of them with my problems when they finally had something to be happy about after Aang and Sokka's deaths, she called me a stubborn idiot and told me it didn't matter how bad things were between Tenzin and me, I was still part of their family and they weren't going to let me distance myself from them just because my mother was gone and Tenzin and I's relationship was over. She told me that she and Aunt Katara had been taking care of me around the clock since I had been found laying in a pool of my own vomit by the officer who survived my mother's attack when he came to the gym for physical therapy the morning after I collapsed. He called Air Temple Island because I never changed Tenzin as my emergency contact and got Aunt Katara, who insisted I be brought there. She also told me that I probably would have choked to death if that officer hadn't found me."

She turned to Korra.

"Listen Korra, I know that talking about your parents is the last thing you want to do right now, but I tried to do the same thing you're doing and it nearly cost me everything, including my life. So please, talk to someone. Like I told you before, there are four people who know what you are going through and are ready to talk when you are." She said. "Including me."

Suddenly, a flash lit up the sky, followed by a monstrous "BOOM!"

"Looks like the radio was right after all." Lin said.

She stood up and held out a hand for Korra.

"Come on, let's get inside. Dinner's probably ready by now." She said.

Korra took her the hand and they made a run for the house, getting there just seconds before a torrential downpour began.

The kids and Bolin were sitting down at the table when Korra and Lin arrived in the dinning room. A few moments later, Asami walked in carrying a tray that held that night's

dinner of vegetable dumplings, her mother's famous honey soy dipping sauce, and rice. After the food was passed around and Jinora said the blessing, Asami once again stood up

with the tray which now held only one serving of the dumplings, sauce, and rice .

"Everyone go ahead and start, I going to bring this to Pema." She said. "By the way kids, there's a special desert I brought from the bakery for anyone who eats all their dumplings and rice tonight."

The eyes of all the children lit up and they immediately began to dig into their food as Asami left the room. Korra leaned over to Bolin and whispered,

"What's the surprise?"

"Sweet buns with green tea icing." Bolin whispered back, his own mind watering as he thought about the treats he helped Asami make earlier that day.

When Asami reached Tenzin and Pema's room, she knocked on the door a couple of times.

"Pema?" She called out.

"Asami, is that you?" She heard Pema's voice call out.

"Yeah, I brought you dinner." She said as she slid the door opened. "I made some vege..." She began as she looked up at the woman in the bed.

She stopped when she saw Pema sitting on the side of the bed, clutching her stomach. Asami quickly walked over to the bed and sat the tray down at the foot of it before

knelling in front of her. That's when she saw that the bottom of Pema's pajama top and most of her bottoms were soaked.

"Pema, are you all right?" She said. "What's wrong?"

Pema looked up at her.

"Call Tenzin and my midwife." She said. "My water just broke."


	8. This Is It

**A/N: Okay, "Goodnight my Hero" and all that chapters of this fic are on AO3 and I can finish up this story (which has three chapters left, including this one). **

**Also, is anyone else pissed that we didn't get ANY news about LOK at the Nickelodeon Upfront event? The next chance that we MIGHT get some news is 3/29 when Janet Varney (the voice of Korra) will be at Anime Matsuri Con, so keep your fingers crossed. **

**But enough of my ranting, here is the next chapter...**

Asami grabbed the telephone on the bedside table and quickly dialed the number of Tenzin's office. A couple rings later, she heard his voice.

"Councilman Tenzin." He said.

"Master Tenzin, it's Asami." She said.

Tenzin could tell from the tone of her voice that something was wrong.

"Asami, what's going on?" He asked. "Is it Pema?"

"Yes, her water broke and her pains have started." Asami said.

She tried not to sound as panicked as she was. The storm was still raging outside and there was no way Tenzin could fly Oogi through it.

"Alright, just relax. It's important that we remain calm for the sake of Pema and the baby." He said. "Now I'm going to hang up in a moment and call the midwife and see if she can come here to City Hall. While I do that, I need you to go tell Bolin, Korra, and Lin what is going on. Have Bolin watch the children and help them with their bedtime routines, Korra knows them if he has any questions, understand?"

"Yes." Asami said.

"Okay, I'll call you back in a few minutes." Tenzin said, then hung up.

Asami put the phone down and turned to Pema, who was lying down again.

"I'll be right back, Pema." She said.

Pema nodded and watch as Asami left the room.

When Asami got back to the dining room, the kids had already eaten their dumplings and were almost done with their rice.

"Beautiful Woman, we're almost done eating!" Meelo said.

"That's great, Meelo." Asami said.

She turned to the three adults at the table.

"Can I talk to you three alone?" She asked.

They could tell from the look on her face that something was wrong and immediately followed her out into the hall.

"What is it, Asami?" Bolin asked.

Asami let out a sigh.

"Pema is in labor." She said.

The three of them were shocked.

"Are you sure?" Lin asked.

Asami nodded.

"Her water broke just a minute ago. I've already called Tenzin and he's trying to get the midwife to City Hall, but there's no way they can travel by sky bison in this weather, which means..."

"We're going to have to deliver the baby." Korra said.

Asami nodded.

"So what do we do?" Bolin asked.

"Tenzin wants you to stay with the kids and help them through their bedtime routines." Asami said. "Korra, do you know what they are?"

"Yeah, after dinner they have their baths, brush their teeth, put on their pajamas, and Jinora reads in her room while Tenzin reads a story to the other kids." Korra said. "And don't forget, you promised them desert."

"Okay, give them their baths and have them put on their pajamas and tell them they can have their deserts during story time and brush their teeth afterwards." Asami said. "If they ask, tell them their mother is having the baby, but that everything is okay and that they'll see them both in the morning."

Bolin nodded and went back to dinning room as Asami turned back to Korra.

"I know you're a healer, did you help Katara deliver any babies in the South Pole?" She asked.

Korra shook her head.

"I attended a few births, but I never helped. I was only there because the parents wanted their children blessed by the Avatar." She said. "But I attended enough to know we need. Go to the kitchen and get a bowl of cold water, a rag, and a clean knife and take it back to Pema's room and see if you can find a short, loose nightgown Pema can wear. Lin, in the bathhouse there are small tubs that used to give the younger children baths. Get one of them, fill it with water, and take it to Pema's room. I'm going to the Infirmary to get a few things we're going to need."

Asami and Lin gave her a nod and left for the kitchen and the bathhouse while Korra headed for the Infirmary.

At City Hall, Tenzin was pacing back and forth in his office, waiting for the midwife to arrive and berating himself for not leaving with Lin earlier. Jus then, the midwife ran inside the office wrapped in a rain-drenched coat.

"Spirits, I have seen a storm like this in a long time." She said.

Tenzin nodded.

"If it doesn't let up soon, we'll never make it in time." He said.

"Then I'll just have to deliver the baby from here." She said.

"What do you mean?" Tenzin asked, now confused.

"Is there anybody on Air Temple Island who has any healing experience, any at all?" He asked.

Tenzin thought for a second.

"Avatar Korra." He said. "She was trained by my mother."

The midwife nodded.

"Okay, get her on the phone." She said.

Tenzin turned, grabbed the phone from his desk, and quickly dialed the number for the island.

Pema was trying to breathe through the pain when Asami came back into the room with the bowl of water, the rag, and the knife.

"Sorry that took so long." She said as she placed the knife on the dresser. She walked over to the bed and sat the bowl on the table, dipped the rag into it, rang it out, and ran it over the pregnant woman's face.

"Tenzin hasn't called back yet, has he?" She asked.

Pema shook her head.

"I'm so scared." She said. "What if he and the midwife..."

"Don't worry, everything's going to be okay. Remember, Korra is a healer. If this little one decides to come before the storm lets up, she can deliver the baby." She said. "Now, let's get you out of these wet clothes. Do you have a short loose nightgown you can wear?"

Pema nodded.

"Top drawer, left side of the dresser, I wear it during the summer on nights when it's too hot to wear my pajamas." She said.

Asami got up and walked over to the dresser. After a few moments of searching she found the nightgown and walked back over to the bed, helped Pema sit up, and out of her

wet clothes. She was pulling the nightgown over Pema's head when Lin and Korra came into the room with the small tub of water and a basket of things from the Infirmary that

they would need. They set the items on the dresser just as the telephone rang. Asami quickly picked it up.

"Hello?" She said.

"Asami, it's Tenzin." He said. "How's Pema's doing?"

"She's doing alright, but the pains are starting to come faster." She said.

"It's okay, I have the midwife right here. Put Korra on the phone." She said.

Asami turned to the Avatar.

"Korra, the midwife wants to talk to you." She said.

Korra walked over and took the phone from her.

"Hello?" She said.

"Avatar Korra, Councilman Tenzin tells me that you're a trained healer." The midwife said.

"Yes, but I've never delivered a baby before and the few births I did attend, I didn't help at all." She said.

"That's all right." The midwife said. "I'll talk you through everything. Now, I need you to get a clean knife, some string, and a large clean towel and put them next to Pema so that they'll be ready for when after the baby is out. After that I need you to go wash your hands and do not touch anything until after the birth, have your friend hold the phone during the delivery." The midwife said. "Also, is there anyone else there besides the two of you?" The midwife asked.

"Yes, Chief Bei Fong is here." Korra said.

"Tell her to get behind Pema so that she can lean against her." She said. "Hold on, give the phone to Pema. Tenzin wants to talk to her."

"Okay." Korra said, then gave the telephone to Pema.

As Pema talked to Tenzin, Korra took a large towel and a roll of string out of the basket and the knife off the dresser and placed them on the bed next to Pema before turning to

Asami and Lin.

"Chief, the midwife said to get behind Pema so she can lean against you, make sure she stays cooled off." She said. "I need to go wash my hands, come get me if anything changes."

She left the room and Lin sat on the bed behind Pema, placing a leg on each side of her and gently pulling her up so that her back rested against Lin's chest.

The next few minutes were calm as Pema talked to Tenzin and moaned in pain and Lin running the rag over face and neck every time she did while Asami sat towels around the

small tub on the dresser so they would be ready when it came time to clean up the baby. Suddenly, the calmness was broken when Pema dropped the telephone, grabbed her

stomach, and let out a scream.

"Pema?!" Lin said.

Pema looked at her.

"It's coming!" She said. "The baby is coming now!"

Lin turned to Asami.

"Go get Korra!" She said.

Asami ran out of the room as Lin picked up the telephone.

"Tenzin." She said.

"Lin, what's happening?!" He asked frantically.

"This is it, Tenzin. Put the midwife back on." She said.

The next thing she heard was a woman's.

"Chief Bei Fong?" She said. "Where's Avatar Korra?"

"She'll be here in a moment." Lin said. "Is there anything I need to do?"

"Yes, place one arm between Pema's stomach and breast and the other on top of her chest and tell her to hold on to the arm that's on her chest when she's pushing." The midwife said.

Lin put the phone on the bedside table and did as she was told just as Asami and Korra were running back into the room with Korra holding up her hands to avoid touching

anything.

"Asami, take one of the large towels from the basket and blankets off the bed and use it to cover up Pema's legs, then get the telephone and hold it up to my ear." Korra said.

Asami quickly pulled the blankets off the bed, grabbed the towel, and spread it out on Pema's spread and bent legs. Korra sat down on the bed while Asami grabbed the telephone

and placed the receiver against her ear and the speaker up to her mouth.

"Hello?" Korra said.

"Alright Avatar Korra, I want you to do exactly as I say, understand?" The midwife said.

"Yes." Korra said.

"Alright, look between Pema's legs and tell me what you see." The midwife asked.

Korra looked between Pema legs for a couple seconds before she realized what she was looking at.

"The baby's head is starting to come out." She said.

"Okay, place both your hands at Pema's opening and tell Pema to take a deep breath and push hard for ten seconds at a time while you help the baby out. Keep doing this until the baby's head is completely out." The midwife said.

Korra looked up at Pema.

"Pema, take a deep breath and push hard for ten seconds." She said.

Pema nodded, took a deep breath and pushed while Korra counted to ten.

"Again." Korra said.

Pema took another deep breath and pushed for ten more seconds, letting out a scream while Korra began to gently guide the baby's head out.

"Once more." Korra said.

Another deep breath and push later, the baby's head was out.

"Alright, the head is out." Korra said into the telephone.

"Okay good." The midwife said. "Now tell Pema to relax and use your waterbending to clean out the baby's nose. Then gently open the baby's mouth and use waterbending to clean that out."

"Pema, relax for a moment." Korra said as she clean out the baby's nose.

After she was sure that it was clear, she used her finger to get open the baby's mouth and clean out it's mouth.

"Okay, the nose and mouth are clear." She said.

"Alright, now we have to get both shoulders out. Tell Pema to do the same as before." She said. "Once the shoulders are out, the rest of the baby will follow."

Korra looked back up at Pema.

"We're halfway there, Pema." She said. "Give me a deep breath and big push for ten seconds."

Pema took a deep breath and pushed hard, letting out another scream. Ten seconds later, one of the baby's shoulders was free.

"One more time." Korra said.

Bracing herself against Lin, Pema took a deep breath, pushed with everything she had, and didn't stop until she heard her child's first cries of life.

"The baby is out!" Korra said.

"Good work, now this is important. Take the towel that you put beside Pema earlier and wrap the baby up in it. Next, take a couple pieces of the string and tie one of them around the umbilical cord a little bit away from the stomach and the other one a little bit away from the first one. Tie both of them as tight as you can and wait until the blood stops flowing in the area between the strings, then cut the umbilical cord with the knife." The midwife said.

"Okay." Korra said.

"Korra, is my baby okay?" Pema asked weakly as Korra tied the umbilical cord off.

Korra smiled.

"Your son is fine, Pema." She said. "Just a few more moments and you'll get to meet him."

She saw Pema smile as tears of happiness fell down her face and a second later, she heard Tenzin's joyful shooting over the phone. When the blood stopped flowing, she used the

knife to cut the cord and handed the squirming baby to his mother. As mother and son bonded, Korra looked and saw that the storm was over.

"Avatar Korra, are you there?" The midwife asked.

"Yeah, I'm here." Korra said.

"You did a great job." The midwife said. "Now that the storm is over, Councilman Tenzin and I are leaving for Air Temple Island, but I need you to do one more thing before we get there. In a few moments, Pema will start having some weak pains like she's in labor again, but that's just going to be the placenta coming out. Just tell her to give you a small push and that should be enough for it to come out and then wrap it in a towel once it is. Can you do that?"

"Yeah, I can do it." Korra said.

"Alright, we'll be there in a few minutes." The midwife said. "Goodbye."

"Bye." Korra said, then told Asami she could hang up the telephone.

She got up and stretched her legs for a moment before grabbing another towel from the basket and sitting back down on the bed. At that moment, Pema moaned out in pain

again.

"Pema, are you all right?" Asami asked.

"It's okay, she's just delivering the placenta." Korra said. "Why don't you hand the baby to Asami so she can get him cleaned up for Tenzin."

Pema nodded and handed the baby to Asami.

"Okay, now give me a small push and you'll be able to rest." She said.

Pema pushed like she had earlier but instead of relaxing afterwards, she let out a cry of pain.

"Pema?!" Lin said.

She turned to Korra.

"What going on?!" She said.

Korra didn't answer Lin. She knew from her experiences in the South Pole what a human placenta looked like and what was coming out of Pema right now was definitely not a

placenta. She looked up at her.

"Pema, remember when you told me that you were bigger with this pregnancy than you were with the others and you didn't know why?" She said.

Pema nodded.

"Yes, why do you ask?" She said before letting another cry of pain.

"Because I just found out the reason why you were so big." Korra said.


	9. Heroes

"...And Avatar Aang stood with his true love Master Katara, watching as the sun set over not only a new Ba Sing Se, but a new world." Bolin said.

He looked over at the kids, who were usually asleep by now but were still wide-awake, though Rohan was yawning every few minutes.

"Okay, that's all for tonight." He said as he closed the book. "Time for bed."

"Please one more!" Ikki and Meelo said.

"No way, you guys were supposed to be asleep an hour ago." Bolin said.

"But we want to meet our new brother!" Meelo said.

"Meelo, I told you. It's gonna be a girl!" Ikki said.

"Okay, I'll make you all a deal." Bolin said, sensing an argument was about to occur. "If you go to sleep right now, if your mother has the baby tonight, I will wake you up and tell you the minute it happens."

"You promise?" Ikki said.

"Cross my heart." He said, making an x over his heart.

Ikki and Meelo looked at each other for a moment, then turned back to Bolin.

"Night!" They said.

Ikki whizzed past Bolin to her and Jinora's room while Meelo jumped into his bed, laid down and closed his eyes. Bolin walked over to Rohan, who was now fast asleep, and gently covered him up with his blanket before walking out of the room.

"Why didn't I think of that an hour ago?" He said to himself as he slid the door closed.

He heard footsteps and looked up to see his brother walking toward him.

"Bo, sorry I'm back so late. The meetings with the sponsors ran longer than I thought and by the time it was over, the storm had hit and I knew there was no way the air acolytes were going to take the fiery out into it, so I stay at the office until it was over." He said. "Has everyone gone to bed already?"

Bolin shook his head.

"No, just the kids." He said. "Pema went into labor and the midwife and Tenzin couldn't get here because of the storm."

"Then who's delivering the baby?" Mako asked.

"Asami, the Chief, and Korra." Bolin said. "Come on, Pema's probably given birth by now."

When they got to Pema and Tenzin's room, the first thing they heard was Pema's scream coming from behind the door.

"Guess the baby's not here yet." Bolin said. "Though I could have sworn I heard crying a second ago."

"Well, there nothing we can do but wait." Mako said.

Bolin nodded and they both sat down against the wall that was opposite the door and listen to Pema's cries of pain.

"She must be close if she's yelling that much." Mako said.

Just then, Tenzin and the midwife ran up to them.

"What are you boys doing out here?" He asked. "Don't you want to see the baby?"

"Pema hasn't had it yet." Bolin said.

"Yes she has." The midwife said. "I talked Avatar Korra through the delivery and heard the baby cry over the phone."

"Then why was Pema sc...?" Bolin asked.

He was interrupted when they all heard Pema scream again followed a second later by the sharp cries of a baby.

"You three stay out here." The midwife said as she rushed into the room.

It was silent for the next ten minutes as the boys remained in their spots against the wall and a noticeably pale Tenzin paced in front of the door. Finally, the door opened and the

midwife appeared, smiling.

"You can come in now." She said.

Tenzin quickly walked into the room and found his exhausted wife in their bed, holding a small bundle in her arms. She looked up at him as he sat down next to her.

"Tenzin." She said.

"Are you okay, Pema?" He asked.

She gave him a tired smile.

"I'm perfect." She said.

She looked down at their baby, when was just starting to open it's eyes.

"Say hello to your daughter." She said.

Tenzin looked at her, then the baby.

"Daughter?" He said. "The midwife told me we had a son."

"You do." Asami said. "He's right here."

He looked up and saw her walking toward him with another bundle in her arms before gently handing him his son.

"Twins?" Tenzin said before turning to Pema. "You had twins?"

Pema nodded.

"They're both completely healthy." The midwife said.

"So what are you going to name them?" Lin asked.

Pema looked down at her daughter, who looked just like Jinora when she was born, only with green eyes instead of brown.

"We had names picked out." She said. "But I don't know, they don't seem right now."

Looking at his son, who was a replica of Rohan except a lot more hair, and shook his head.

"No." He said. "They don't."

"Can I make a suggestion?" Korra asked.

Pema and Tenzin looked at her and nodded and Korra said in a soft voice,

"Can you name them after my parents?"

Everyone was silent, except for the midwife who didn't what was going on. Tenzin looked at Pema, who gave him a small nod, then back at Korra.

"Only if you do one thing." He said.

"What?" Korra asked.

"When they are old enough to understand, you must tell them all about the amazing people their namesakes were." He said.

Korra gave them a small smile and nodded, tears forming in her eyes.

"We'll leave you two alone." Mako said. "See you in the morning."

Everyone except for the midwife left the room. When the door slid shut, she turned to Pema and Tenzin.

"The Avatar's parents must be amazing people for you to name your children after them." She said.

"They were." Tenzin said. "Korra's father, Tonraq, was the former prince of the Northern Water Tribe and her mother, Senna, was a healer who was trained by my mother."

"Were?" The midwife asked.

Pema let out a sigh.

"They went to the Northern Water Tribe to help combat the coughing sickness." She said sadly. "It killed her mother two and a half months later and her father three and a half mothers later."

After the door was closed, Bolin looked at everyone.

"I'll see you guy in the morning. I'm going to go tell the kids about their new siblings, then go to bed." He said.

"Can't you tell them in the morning?" Asami asked.

"Well, you see, I kinda promised them that if Pema gave birth tonight, I would wake them and tell them." He said, rubbing his neck nervously.

Everyone glared at him.

"What? It was the only thing I could say that made them go to bed." He said.

"I'll come with you, Kid. Then I heading back to the city now that the storm is over." She said

Bolin nodded and they left for the kids' rooms. At that moment, the door slid open again and Tenzin walked out.

"Oh good, you're still here. I forgot to thank you for all that you did for Pema and the babies." He said. "Especially you, Korra. I know your parents would be proud."

He expected her to smile at his compliment. Instead, she gave him a frown.

"Shut up, Tenzin." She said. "Just shut up!"

And with that, she took off down the hall.

"Korra!" Mako called out.

Tenzin stood there for a second, shocked at what Korra had just done, then started the run after her. Mako stopped him.

"Stay here." He said. "We'll bring her back."

He ran after his girlfriend, Asami at his heels.

Korra kept running until she reached the edge of the cliff that over looked the city, where she fell to her knees and let out an anguished scream. By the time Asami and Mako got

there, she was hugging and had her face buried in her knees and was murmuring something to herself. It was only when they got close enough that they heard what she was

saying.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry...please forgive me...I'm sorry." She kept saying.

Mako placed a hand on her back as he and Asami knelt beside her, making her turn and face him with tears running down her face.

"I failed them, Mako!" She cried. "I'm the Avatar! The savior of the world, and I couldn't even save my own parents!"

Mako let out a sad sigh.

"Korra, there was nothing you could have done to save your mom, she was so sick that Katara, the greatest healer in the world, couldn't save her." He said. "And your dad loved your mom so much that he would have stayed with her no matter what."

"Your parents knew that there was a chance they could catch the sickness if they went to the North Pole, but they went anyway because there were people there who needed their help." Asami said. "Your parents are heroes, Korra."

The next couple moments were quiet, then Korra gripped the front of Mako's shirt, buried her face in his chest, and began to sob. Mako wrapped his arms around her and held

her as the sobs racked her body while Asami watched as her friend finally allowed herself to grieve the loss of her parents.

**Endnote: There is one more chapter left and I have some good news and some bad news. **

**The good news is that I already have half the chapter typed. **

**The bad news is that I have a lot going on this week and I don't know if I'm going to have time to work on the last half of the chapter. **

**I'm going to do everything I can to have the chapter up by Wednesday, but don't be disappointed if it isn't.**

**Until next time, thanks for reading and don't forget to review!**

**Bye!**

**Ruby Sapphire Rose**


	10. Sharing is Caring

When Lin and Bolin reached the kids' rooms, she steered him toward the boys' room.

"Since it was your bright idea to wake the kids up, you'll be dealing with the ones who are going to be the hardest to put back to sleep." She said. "I'll wake the girls up and tell them."

Bolin groaned, but nodded and walked into the boys' room while Lin walked into the girls'. She walked up to Ikki's bed and gently shook her.

"Ikki, Ikki wake up." She said softly.

Ikki moaned and opened her eyes.

"Aunt Lin?" She said sleepily.

"Hey." She said. "Bolin told me to wake you. Your mom had the baby."

Ikki sat up, now wide-awake.

"She did?!" She said. "Did she have a boy or a girl?!"

"I'll tell you in a moment." Lin said. "First we have wake up Jinora."

Ikki nodded, jumped out of bed, ran over to the other side of the room where Jinora's bed was, and roughly shook Jinora awake.

"Wake up Jinora, wake up!" She said.

Jinora, with her eyes still closed, reached up and lazily tried to push her sister away.

"Go back to bed, Ikki." She groaned.

"Come on, Jinora!" Ikki said, continuing to shake her. "Mom had the baby!"

That woke Jinora up. She opened her eyes and looked up at Ikki.

"She did?" She said. "What did she have?"

Ikki turned to Lin.

"What did she have, Aunt Lin?" She asked.

Lin knelt in front of them.

"You have a new brother." She said. "AND a new sister."

She gave them a moment to process what she had said and watched Jinora's eyes grow big.

"Mom had twins?!" She said.

Lin nodded.

"What are their names?" Ikki asked.

"Your brother's name is Tonraq and your sister is named Senna." She said.

Jinora let out a gasp and covered her mouth. Ikki turned to her.

"What?" She said.

Jinora looked at Lin.

"Those were Korra's parents' names, weren't they?" She said.

Lin was about to answer her when she heard footsteps and turned to see Asami and Mako walking down the hall with Korra in Mako's arms. She stood up and walked toward the

door with the girls walking behind her. She looked over at Bolin, who was standing in the doorway of the boys' room with Meelo and Rohan standing behind his legs.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Bolin shook his head.

"I don't know." He said. "Let's go find out."

They and the kids followed Asami and Mako down the hall. When they reached Korra's room, Asami opened the door, let Mako and Korra inside, and closed the door behind them.

It was only then that she noticed the group that had followed them.

"Asami, what's going on?" Bolin asked.

She let out a sigh.

"The reality of what happened to her parents has finally hit Korra." She said. "She fell apart."

Both Lin and Bolin nodded understandingly.

"Can we see her?" Ikki said. "Maybe we can make her feel better."

Asami shook her head.

"Not tonight, she's really tired and Mako is going to stay with her until she falls asleep." She said. "Maybe tomorrow if she feels up to it."

"Besides, it's late and the only reason we woke you up is to tell you about your new siblings. Now that we have, it's back to bed, all of you." Lin said

The kids pouted, but did as they were told and went back to their rooms.

"You two should go to bed too." Lin said. "We've all had a long day."

Asami and Bolin nodded and turned to leave.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Lin said, stopping them.

They turned around as Lin reached into the pocket of her pants, pulled out an envelope, and handed it to Bolin.

"Here are your test results, Kid. If you passed, just take this letter to the station and they'll give you your uniform and the date of the graduation ceremony." She said.

Bolin nodded again.

"Thanks Chief." He said.

Lin watched as he and Asami left and was about to leave for the docks when she heard a familiar voice call out,

"Lin, what are you still doing here? I thought you would have headed for the dock by now."

She looked and saw Tenzin walking up to her.

"I was, but there was a small crisis that had to be dealt with before I could go." She said. "I was just leaving."

"What happened? It's Korra, isn't it? I knew I should have gone after her." Tenzin said.

He tried to move past her and go into Korra's room, but she stopped him.

"Korra is fine." She said. "Mako is in there taking care of her and is going to stay in there until she falls asleep. "

"But I know what she's going through and I c..." He began.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Tenzin!" Lin said angrily. "You have no idea what that girl is going through right now!"

Tenzin was shocked by the tone of his old friend's voice.

"Of course I do, Lin." He said calmly. "I know what's its like to watch a parent slowly lose their life."

"Yes, but your father was old and had been sick for months and you were able to tell him goodbye. Korra's parents were too young to die. She never got to say goodbye to her mother and despite everything she and Aunt Katara did to save her father, she had to watch him suffer and waste away to nothing for weeks before he died." Lin said. "There are only four people on this island who have gone through that kind of pain, Tenzin. One of them is in that room trying to help her through it and another one is talking to you right now and I am telling you to back off. When Korra is ready to talk to you, she will. But right now, you have to give her space."

Just then, the door to Korra's room opened and Mako stepped out.

"Will you two keep your voices down?" He whispered. "Korra just fell asleep."

Tenzin and Lin looked inside the room and saw the Avatar dressed in light blue pajamas and sound asleep in her bed, her checks still wet from the tears she had cried.

"How is she?" Lin asked.

Mako sighed.

"She cried herself to sleep." He said. "But I think she'll be okay. Come on, let's let her sleep."

Mako softly closed the door and he and Tenzin went back to their rooms while Lin left for the dock to catch a fiery back to the city.

The next morning, Mako went to Korra's room to see if she wanted to come to breakfast. Because of all that had happened the night before, Asami was cooking breakfast that

morning with a little help from Bolin who, Mako noticed, couldn't stop smiling that morning and when Mako asked why was happier than usual, Bolin just said he would tell him

and everyone else at breakfast. When he got to Korra's room, he found the kids there waiting for him.

"What are you all doing here?" He asked. "Aren't you supposed to be at morning meditation with your father?"

"It was cancelled so that he could be with Mom and the babies." Jinora said. "Plus, we have something we want to ask Korra."

Mako nodded.

"Okay, let me see if she's awake first." He said.

He stepped around the kids and opened the door to Korra's room and, as he expected, Korra was still asleep. He walked into the room and opened up the windows to let the

sunlight in. It hit Korra in the face, making her groan.

"Come on Sleepyhead, time to wake up." He said.

Korra groaned again and pulled the blankets over her head. Mako laughed, sat on the bed, and pulled the blankets back from her face before leaning down and pressing a quick

kiss against her lips.

"Come on, get up." He said. "You've got some visitors."

Korra opened her eyes.

"Who?" She asked sleepily.

Mako smiled, got up, walked to the door, and opened it.

"Come on in, she's awake." He said.

The next thing Korra knew, four little airbenders were running into her room, yelling her name, and jumping up on her bed to give her a hug. She wrapped her arms around all of

them and hugged them back for a few moments before pulling back.

"Aunt Lin and Bolin told us about what you did yesterday." Ikki said. "About how you gave your parents' names to the babies."

"I like Tonraq and Senna, they're really cool names!" Meelo said.

"Korra, we know you've been sad ever since your parents died and we know that nothing can bring them back or replace them." Jinora said. "But we all talked last night and we decided, if you would let us..."

"We share Mommy and Daddy wif you!" Rohan said.

Korra looked at them.

"Share your mom and dad with me?" She asked.

They all nodded.

"Since you're already like our big sister, we decided to share our mom and dad with you since yours had to go to the Spirit World and you won't see them for a long time." Meelo said. "That way our mom and dad can be your mom and dad too."

Mako was silent, not quite sure how Korra was going to react to this. Then Korra wrapped her arms around the kids and smiled as a couple tears of happiness ran down her

checks.

"Of course you can share your parents with me." She said.

"YEAH!" The kids shouted and hugged.

Mako smiled as he watched them, knowing that Korra had truly begun to heal after everything that had happened and she was finally ready to move on.

**Endnote: That's it! This story is officially over! **

**The third and final story of this trilogy, "There's a Light at the End of the Tunnel", is currently being written and will be put up after my next story is finished. It's the first part of my A:TLA two-part story and is call "Redemption for Unknown Sins". Look for it in the next two weeks. **

**Until then, thanks for all so much for the favorites, alerts, and reviews and I'll see you next time!**

**Bye!**

**Ruby Sapphire Rose **


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